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Dismantling
Cancer
Francisco Contreras, MD,
Jorge Barroso-Aranda, MD, PhD
Daniel E. Kennedy
Dismantling Cancer
by Francisco Contreras, MD, Jorge Barroso-Aranda, M.D., Ph.D., and Daniel
E. Kennedy
Published by Interpacific Press
1685 Precision Park Lane, Suite L
San Diego, CA 92173
Tel. (800) 950-6505
Tel. (619) 428-0930
Fax. (619) 428-0994
Publisher & Editor: Daniel E. Kennedy
Editorial Coordinator: Luisa Ruiz
Researchers: Jorge Barroso-Aranda, M.D., Ph.D., Jaime Chávez, MT
Writing Staff: Michael Wood and Luisa Ruiz
Graphic Design: Haydeé Aceves Carrillo
Cover Design: Haydeé Aceves Carrillo, Daniel E. Kennedy, Ricardo Álvarez,
Eduardo Gamboa and Laura Monroy Amor
Graphic Art: Haydeé Aceves Carrillo
Photography: Antonio Leyva, www.fotoleyva.com
Format: Laura Monroy Amor
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise—without prior written permission of
the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.
Copyright © 2004 by Francisco Contreras, M.D. All Rights Reserved
International Standard Book Number: 1-57946-005-4
This book is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of
medical advice and treatment from your personal physician. Readers are
advised to consult their own doctors or other qualified health professionals
regarding the treatment of their medical problems. Neither the publisher nor
the author takes any responsibility for any possible consequences from any
treatment, action or application of medicine, supplement, herb or preparation
to any person reading or following information in this book. If readers are taking prescriptions medications, again, they should consult with their physicians
and not take themselves off of medicines to start supplementation or nutrition
program without the proper supervision of a physician.
Printed in the United States of America
To Ernesto Contreras Sr., MD
(1915-2003)
You and your smile, Dad, are greatly missed
in the halls of the Oasis of Hope Hospital.
Your family, friends, and patients will never forget you.
Thank you for leaving a legacy of faith, hope, and love.
Your greatest medicine was your unconditional love
for your patients.
Acknowledgements
Since 1994, I have had the opportunity to write ten books. I have
been blessed with a wonderful writing team, research team, and
design team that have made these publications possible. Dismantling Cancer is a book that shares the essence of the forty years of
cancer treatment at the Oasis of Hope Hospital that was founded
by my father, Dr. Ernesto Contreras, Sr. This book is very special
to me because it contains ideas and significant contributions by
two of my closest collaborators, Dr. Jorge Barroso-Aranda and
Daniel E. Kennedy.
Dr. Barroso-Aranda is the director of my clinical research
organization. He is the product of an education at the University
of California Berkley, a degree in Engineering from Mexico’s top
university—the Monterrey Institute of Technology—, a medical
degree from UABC, and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California San Diego. This gentleman brings a serious
scientific background and leadership to all that is done at the Oasis
of Hope. It is a privilege to work with him.
Daniel E. Kennedy is the Chief Executive Officer of the
Oasis of Hope Health Group and he has been the master builder of
my institution since 1993. His background in economics combined
with a Master in Business Administration has put Oasis of Hope
on a path of continuous improvement. His coursework in ministry
and counseling, coupled with his current pursuit of a specialty in
psychosocial oncology, is helping me shape what will be the future of the Oasis of Hope integrative cancer treatment approach.
I wish to thank my incredible writer, Michael Wood, who
makes our books much more readable, accurate, and interesting.
Luisa Ruiz has contributed countless hours to this book and she is
just a joy to work with. Thank you Jaime Chávez for the help with
research. I am thrilled with the way Haydeé Aceves and Laura
Monroy Amor enhance the visual communication of the book. I
also thank Ricardo Álvarez, Eduardo Gamboa, María Bernal, and
Gloria Rojo for all of their support as well.
Introduction
Donald Factor, son of the famous Hollywood make-up artist Max
Factor, was diagnosed with cancer in 1986. His doctors told him
he would probably not survive. Nothing could have been further
from the truth. Donald Factor is alive today, living life to the fullest with his wife Anna. In one of his recent visits to the Oasis of
Hope Hospital, he shared his story.
“I was living ninety miles outside of London in November of
1986 when I was diagnosed with carcinoma of the lung that had
spread to my liver. The doctors in England didn’t hold a lot of hope
for me. They were very apologetic and offered a treatment which
they thought might extendmy life for a little while, but not for very
long. I didn’t feel like accepting that prognosis and decided to go
and see Dr. Contreras. I’d met Dr.Contreras a few years before
in a conference my wife and I had helped organize at Warwick
University. I was very impressed with his approach. He told us he
used modern medicine combined withnatural therapies and a lot of
love and faith. My wife Anna and I traveledfrom England to Los
Angeles and then we drove down to Tijuana to the hospital where
I was treated. When I arrived I was in an extremely weak condition. It was ten days after the original diagnosis and the cancer had
spread to my spine. I was in excruciating pain . My sciatic nerve
had been affected so I could hardly walk. I was loosing weight
rapidly too. They took a look at me at the Contreras clinic and
were quite concerned. They were not very optimistic about my
future either, but as Dr. Contreras Sr. said, because both I and my
wife were very committed to doing everything possible to beat the
cancer, they were prepared to work with us. To make a long story
short, w e succeeded.
I was very impressed with Dr. Contreras’ clinic when I went inside and met the people. I had never experienced a hospital where
the doctors would treat me as a human being instead of a bunch
of symptoms or a disease walking through the door. There was
a team of people there who were interested in me and they were
involving me in the course my treatment would take. I was being
asked, I wasbeing informed and suddenly I was part of the team
that was treating me. I wasn’t just an object that was being treated.
That was tremendous.
Dr. Contreras assured me that the therapy ought to prove helpful
immediately. I asked him about laetrile, and he told me that he did
not regard it as a silver bullet. It was just one part of his whole
metabolic approach to treating cancer. My condition, he told me,
was serious and the treatment would be complex. About a week
into the course of treatment, which began with a program of detoxification, Dr. Francisco Contreras, his son who is a surgeon and
oncologist, performed a minor surgical procedure that involved
the insertion of a catheter into my liver to feed laetrile, vitamin C,
and a chemotherapy agent directly to the point where they would
do the most good. At the time, this was considered a radical new
idea. He explained that he only used chemotherapy as a last resort
and then only in the minimum amount necessary. His method of
treatment was much more precise and also much less aggressive
than conventional applications of cancer treatment.
Dr. Contreras also prescribed a week of radiation treatments targeting the tumor on my spine. It was clear that the pain this tumor
was causing me was compromising my emotional strength. He
explained that the treatment would shrink the tumor, reduce the
amount of pain I was dealing with, and strengthen the bones in the
process. It did.
I learned later from some of the doctors at the Oasis of Hope
that I was more riddled with cancer than any case they had seen
before. There were quite a few times during the treatment process
when I felt like giving up, and the guilt I felt for even entertaining
those thoughts often weighed heavily on me. However, part of the
program involved the counsel of a psychologist, who helped me
to accept those emotions as a normal part of the healing process.
This didmuch to relieve my guilt and raise my spirits considerably.
Dr. Contreras said that my positive and determined attitude along
with Anna’s enthusiasm helped me immeasurably.
After the initial treatment and about a year of home therapy, I was
totally clear of any sign of cancer. Although I will probablynever
know if any one part of my experience was the actual key to my
recovery, I am convinced that it was most likely all of it—every
thing, physical, emotional and spiritual.
Many orthodox physicians consider metabolic therapy to be out
on the fringe. But the theory behind it seems to me like just good
common sense. Get the patient well enough to help deal with the
disease. Simple. Oncologists seem to have an attitude that ignores
the patient and focuses on the disease. Their attitude is, ‘If I can’t
help the patient, nobody can.’ Well, I am happy to say that I am
living proof that somebody can. For this I will be forever grateful.”
—Donald Factor
Mr. Factor experienced the eclectic system that integrates conventional, alternative and holistic therapies with the goal of dismantling cancer. The Contreras total care approach has been under development for forty years. This book is an overview of the
discoveries, insights and philosophy of a unique comprehensive
cancer treatment that has reached its four-decade milestone.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. Cancer Mythology
Chapter 2. A Need for Change
Chapter 3. The Road Less Traveled
Chapter 4. Good Medicine
Chapter 5. Coming Into Focus
Chapter 6. Natural Defense System
Chapter 7. Cleaning House
Chapter 8. Nature’s Pharmacy
Chapter 9. A Combined Effort
Chapter 10. Something In The Air
Chapter 11. Seeing The Light
Chapter 12. It’s Emotional
Chapter 13. Mind Medicine
Chapter 14. Learning New Tricks
Chapter 15. True Spirit
Chapter 16. Great Expectations
Chapter 17. Take Charge
Epilogue
Appendices
References
Chapter One
Cancer Mythology
Mythology is an ancient, traditional story or tale about heroes
or supernatural beings, often depicting true aspects of life or human behavior that many times are widely believed in but are, in
fact, fictitious. Nevertheless, myth plays an important role in the
advancementof the sciences and arts. John Maxwell says that “the
depth of your mythology is the extent of your effectiveness.”1I
would agree that the many cancer stories researchers have told
us have promoted the advancement of knowledge about cancer,
but the promised cure is still a myth. Is cancer research history
largely an account of mass publications at the expenditure of vast
resources to cope with mythical hopes? Well, let me tell you that
many of the fears are myths as well.
I do not like to watch television programs, especially sit-coms, but
a good movie is something that I cherish, I even will wait in line,
something that I truly hate, at the box office or the video store to
catch a good one. HBO’s mini-seriesBand of Brothers was worth
the wait at the counter when the entire collection was released
for sale. On the surface, it chronicles the lives of a company of
American soldiers during World War II, but the film series is much
more. It is an incredible tribute to the ability of the human spirit to
overcome tremendous hardship, devastating loss, and seemingly
insurmountable opposition. A history of mythic proportions.
I love the story ofBand of Brothers, not just because I am a World
War II buff, or a Steven Spielberg fan. I love the story because
I know it so well. I love it because it is the story of every single
cancer patient who has walked through the front doors of the Oasis
of Hope Hospital where I have spent the bulk of my professional
career. I love it because it is the story of every person who has
ever battled serious, degenerative disease. But most of all, I love it
because it is my father’s story.
As a young physician, my father pursued excellence with a tenacity the rival of which I have yet to see. By the 1960s, his reputation
had grown to international proportions. He was regarded as one of
the most promising young doctors in the field of oncology. Yet, it
did not take long for my father to become disenchanted with the
poor results yielded by conventional cancer treatment methods.
He saw the devastating effect the therapies had on his patients’
quality of life, but saw little decrease in the rate of mortality.
Undaunted, my father began to explore the use of alternative
therapies to treat cancer. The resistance from his colleagues in the
mainstream medical community was intense. In fact, by 1963, he
had become a pariah in the field, ostracized completely because
he wanted to investigate unconventional treatment methods. This
widespread rejection from colleagues was a huge loss to my father,
but it did not quench his drive to find and promote treatment methods that alleviated suffering and held more promise than failing
conventional therapies. My father battled cancer from the first day
of his professional career until the day he died. His story gives me
inspiration. It gives me direction. Most of all, it gives me hope.
Recently, I was in Dallas to give an interview on FOX News. I
was prepared to answer the standard questions about the potential
effectiveness of some of the new treatments on the horizon. I was
a little taken aback with the opening question. “What is the biggest
myth that still exists about cancer?” the reporter asked, looking me
straight in the eyes.
What surprised me the most was not the unexpected nature of the
question, but how easy it was to answer. I responded immediately,
“The principle myth about cancer is that there is no hope. People
feel like they are given a death sentence when they are diagnosed
with cancer. They walk around saying, ‘I know that you see me
here but I am really dead.’ But, there are so many things that can
be done to either reverse the cancer or significantly improve quality of life for the patient.” Like my father before me, I am determined to bring this message of hope to a world that desperately
needs it.
It is not hard to understand why most cancer patients adopt a fatalistic view. Both the incidence of cancer and the mortality rates of
the disease are daunting. While early detection technologies have
definitely made a positive impact, the world continues to wait for
a significant breakthrough. Why isn’t one coming?
The reason is clear enough. I believe that our failure to eradicate cancer is due largely to another myth. This myth has been the
point of origin for virtually all cancer research. In other words, the
belief that has driven doctors for decades in research labs around
the world is a myth.
The myth is that there is a cure for cancer. The myth is the belief
in a “silver bullet” that will single handedly rid the world of this
unbearable disease. The mainstream medical community’s failure
to conquer cancer is directly connected with its reluctance to abandon belief in this myth.
I don’t believe that we will ever find “a cure.” Cancer presents us
with a dizzying array of variations. Couple that with the unique
physiology of each and every patient and it doesn’t take a genius
to recognize that there will never be a “magic pill” that can cover
all of those variables.
If we ever hope to become cancer free, we must embrace reality
over mythology. We must remove our heads from the sand and
seek a viewpoint that provides a clear vision of the situation. The
right vantage is vital, because it will help us avoid unnecessary
setback and heartbreak.
As I set out to write this book, my goal is to provide you with
information that will demystify cancer. I want to empower you to
make choices that will help you overcome the cancer challenge.
Though I know of no magical cure to cancer, I can assure you of
one thing. There is hope.
My father and I have treated over 100,000 patients for over 60
years combined. Our work has not been in vain. We have identified therapies that promise a benefit but don’t work at all. We have
also identified many effective therapies and a treatment approach
that can position people for full recovery.
The thrust of this book is twofold. First, it should serve to debunk the two primary myths surrounding cancer. Cancer is a very
real disease and it is important that we approach it with a hopeful
and realistic perspective. We will examine why the mainstream
approach to cancer treatment has become what it is today. More
importantly, we will take an honest look at the successes and
shortcomings of the three mainstream treatment methods: chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.
Second, the book should serve to explain the “total care” approach
and the spectrum of choice that lies within it. We need to develop a
proper understanding of immunotherapy and the self-healing concept. We need to understand how important the body, mind, and
spirit are in the recovery process. We will examine the highlights
from the body of research on natural anticancer agents compiled
at the Oasis of Hope Hospital.
Make no mistake, I’m not claiming that my father and I are the
discoverers of these effective cancer therapies. I’m not going to
pretend that we invented the body, mind, and spirit approach.
What we have done differently for the last 40 years is implement
new therapies quickly. The wheels of change turn painfully slow
in the mainstream medical community, principally because there
is so much money tied up in conventional treatment methods.
Manydoctors find it difficult to apply new therapies that medical
journals have indicated are beneficial and equally difficult to steer
away from therapies that studies demonstrate are not effective. So
much beneficial research lays dormant on the shelves of medical
libraries.
At the Oasis of Hope, we are decades ahead of the mainstream
community because of our willingness to embrace change. It is
the insights from almost half a century of experience that I wish to
share with you. My desire is that this book fills you with tremendous hope andhelps you to make some informed decisions.
Chapter Two
A Need For Change
Have you ever noticed the reluctance of the male species to stop
an automobile and ask for directions? My wife has. There must
be a genetic switch somewhere that predisposes men to stubbornness in this area. I would rather endure an hour of unanesthetized
kneecap surgery than admit I don’t know where I’m going. Even
when I’m forced to acknowledge that I’m lost I won’t stop and
ask for help. I will put my ear to the ground, or examine the lichen
on a nearby tree to determine which direction I should go. Then I
will clamber back into the car and grunt like a caveman, “Water
that way. We go north.” Sadly, my unwillingness to admit defeat
always yields the same result. We arrive late.
The medical community has behaved in much the same way when
it comes to the treatment of cancer. The lack of significant reduction in the incidence of cancer and the mortality rate of cancer
are clear indicators that doctors are lost and moving in the wrong
direction.
The 20thcentury will go down in history as the era of scientific
breakthrough and technological advance. It is hard to believe that
we started out the 1900s without electricity, telephones, automobiles, and computers. The medical field was profoundly impacted
by the scientific and technological revolutions. Scientistsdeveloped an arsenal of pharmaceuticals designed to address just about
every pathogen. Meanwhile, new technology like lasers, 3-D imaging devices, and fiber optic cameras assisted physicians in the
field. The results of these advances have been impressive.
Acute medicine is at the top of its game, for one. Doctors are able
to save life and limb in ways never before thought possible. If
Humpty Dumpty had been brought to a modern day trauma center,
he would have been put back together in no time at all.
In addition, once complex medical procedures like angioplasty
and open-heart surgery have become routine. People don’t fret as
much as they used to when they go under the knife. Technology
has made the operating room a much more controlled environment
than before.
Finally, diseases like polio, smallpox, and tuberculosis have nearly been eliminated in developed countries. Yet, there is a danger
in all of this good news. The advances of medicine in the 20thcentury have led many people into a false sense of security.
Society’s overconfidence in doctors has caused many to adopt a
cavalier attitude toward personal health. Many people live however they want, eat whatever they want, and disregard any responsibility for their own health. These people hold the erroneous belief
that the doctor can fix every problem.
Then, there is cancer...
I’m sure that when the incidence of cancer began to rise in the
first half of the 20thcentury, doctors were confident that this was
just another epidemic that would meet its demise at the hands of
modern medicine. As the century progressed, I can imagine the
horror with which they realized the truth. I believe that many doctors recognized by the 1950s that they were dealing with an enemy
of gargantuan proportions. After all, one out of every four deaths
in the United States is attributed to cancer. These doctors did what
anyone would do when threatened with such terrifying opposition:
they went in search of a weapon to kill it.
Scientists were so sure that they could find the cure if they had
proper funding. They made such a convincing case that they were
able to gain federal support. In 1971, President Richard Nixon
signed the National Cancer Act1 to dedicate part of the national
budget to cancer research through the National Cancer Institute.
Unfortunately, the incidence and mortality rates of cancer have
increased every year since. So, what has been the benefit of all
that research funding? I’ll tell you. It has taught us two important
lessons. First, it has taught us that we cannot buy the cure to cancer. Second, it has taught us that we need to search for the cause
instead of the cure.
Yet, mainstream medicine continues to ignore these lessons. Scientists continue to spend obscene amounts of money every year
searching for the “silver bullet,” and doctors continue to rely on
the orthodox treatments of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
Let’s take a look at how those treatments became the industry
standards and why the medical community is so reluctant to abandon them.
Most medical historians will agree that the surgical treatment of
cancer began around the turn of the century. A key historical figure
of the time was William Halsted, considered the father of surgery
in the United States. In Halsted’s day, the treatment of breast cancer was extreme, often involving the removal of the entire breast.2
In part this was because Halsted hypothesized that cancer grew
by spreading “tentacles” out from a centralized area into the rest
of the body. Nobody imagined that carcinogenic cells traveled via
the blood stream.3 When a cancer spread to surrounding organs, it
was believed that the “tentacles” had grown in those directions.
This theory became the foundation of oncological surgery. Therefore, the best course of action seemed obvious. Doctors felt that
removing any tissue that could contain the cancer’s “tentacles”
would give a patient the best chances for survival. The most common of these surgeries was the radical mastectomy. These procedures were disturbing and often seriously compromised the
patient’s quality of life. Yet, the philosophy of radical surgery for
breast cancer was soon applied to other cancers. Many of the surgeries performed during that era were absolutely nightmarish.
Relief appeared to come in 1910, when evidence came to light
that cancerous cells travel via the blood stream. The process was
referred to as metastasis. Though metastasis made the disease even
more elusive, many hoped that the gruesome practice of radical
surgery would fall by the wayside, as Halsted’s foundational hypothesis crumbled. Yet, it continued.
In 1964, the first comparitive study between radical surgery and
conservative surgery of breast cancer was conducted. The study
clearly demonstrated that the patients treated with conservative
surgery had a life expectancy equal to or greater than those treated
with radical surgery. Yet, many doctors continue to perform these
drastic surgeries today without any “scientific” foundation to support the decision to do so.
How is it possible that almost a century after the discovery of
metastasis, the medical community has failed to abandon a surgical practice that is grounded on a blatantly false hypothesis? What
justification is there to continue this practice when clinical studies prove that such a course of action is absolutely unnecessary?4
These are good questions, but radical surgery is not the only cancer treatment we should examine carefully.
Almost half a century has passed since radiation therapy was
fully embraced as an orthodox treatment method by the mainstream medical community. In the early years, there was hope that
radiation would prove to be highly effective. Yet, in that time it
has proved to be of little use. As physicians met with failure they
chose to apply increasingly aggressive doses, rather than abandon
the practice. The results of this decision were frightening. Patients
were literally “burned” in the treatment process, often sustaining irreversible damage that left them disabled. To make matters
worse, the intense side-effects of severe nausea and general malaise seriously reduced the patient’s quality of life.
The aggressive application of chemotherapy did not improve matters for cancer patients either. A major study into the effectiveness
of chemotherapy by Dr. Ulrich Abel revealed the ineffectiveness
of the treatment. In the study, Dr. Abel affirms that there is no evidence that the vast majority of cancer treatments with cytotoxic
drugs (chemotherapy) exert any kind of positive influence as far
as life expectancy or quality of life are concerned.5
Again, failure has driven chemotherapists to administer increasingly aggressive dosages and to use considerably more intense
cytotoxic substances. Of the three orthodox treatment methods,
chemotherapy may be the most destructive. In most cases, patients
feel like they are dying. The nausea and vomiting are often severe
enough to require hospitalization. Chemotherapy patients suffer
the loss of hair, appetite, and the energy needed to battle disease. I
cannot tell you how many patients I have spoken with who would
rather die than continue with the therapy. It disturbs me that people
would actually prefer to live with cancer and a prognosis of certain
death, than to suffer the experience of chemotherapy. It is clear
that many view the therapy as a fate worse than death.
My brother, Dr. José Ernesto Contreras. is a clinical oncologist.
He shared my disappointment stating, “It is really frustrating to
see how little we have been able to advance ... against cancer. I
have treated more than 40,000 patients, most of them in the late
stages of cancer, and I can’t say that more than 15 percent of them
responded positively to an orthodox therapy. Only about 40 percent received the benefit of temporary remission, or the alleviation
of suffering. The remaining 60 percent felt little or no reduction
in their suffering. I can only remember a few patients whose lives
were significantly prolonged by the aggressive treatments now
available. In most cases studied, we had to conclude that the remedy was worse than the disease.”
My brother and I are not alone. In 1969, Dr. Hardin James of the
University of California at Berkeley reported, at an American Cancer Society conference, that patients not subjected to aggressive
therapies had a longer life expectancy, than those who underwent
aggressive treatment. In 1986, Dr. Bailar III and Elaine Smith reported that patients with lung cancer who refused treatment expe-
rienced a longer life expectancy and a better quality of life than
those who received treatment.6 In 1988, Dr. Abel reported that
patients suffering from pancreatic cancer who received a placebo
treatment lived longer and better. Dr. Bailar III, upon evaluating
the results of cancer therapies between 1950 and 1980, rated them
to be a “qualified failure.” These men and women are not joking
when they assert that both the treatment methods and the direction
of research must change.
If surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have been so unsuccessful, why is it that mainstream medicine has not rejected them? In
other branches of science and industry, worthless things are rejected and then substituted by things that have value. Nevertheless,
in the struggle against cancer this has not been the case. The governmental authorities, scientific community, and pharmaceutical
monopolies have placed serious obstacles in the path of new ideas.
Alternative therapies, many of which have been proven effective,
have been ridiculed, pushed aside, and prohibited. These therapies
do not deteriorate the patient’s quality of life. It is well known that
patients suffering from many malignancies live longer and better
if the orthodox treatments (surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy)
are not applied.
Just a couple of years ago, a renowned oncologist came to visit
my father. He explained that he had cancer and was looking for
someone to treat him. My father asked him, “Why not take the
chemotherapy that you have prescribed to your patients over the
past 30 years?” The doctor responded, “But this is me we are talking about Ernesto!” This cancer specialist’s experience treating
thousands of cancer patients had taught him that chemotherapy
alone was not going to cure him. He came to my father looking for
an integrative approach.
I am convinced that the real and practical value of the aggressive
use of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy is very limited. Therefore, it should be the obligation of leading oncologists and physicians to investigate new and alternative treatments. Only then
can we hope to find more effective, less aggressive, and less toxic
treatments. Only then can we hope to prolong the lives of cancer
patients and maintain the quality of their lives as well.
I can assure you there are no silver bullets. Conventional therapies such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy can succeed in
the destruction of malignant cells, but they still fail to address the
root cause of the cancer. That is why doctors see so many patients
whose initial response to conventional treatment was positive,
back in the hospital months or years later with stage IVcancer.
Doctors need to abandon the silver bullet methodology and use
a multi-disciplinary approach that meets the physical, emotional,
and spiritual needs of the patient.
The Oasis of Hope is perceived, by doctors and patients, here and
abroad, as an alternative hospital. The truth is that it is more, much
more than that. In the summer of 2002, at a health convention in
New York, I was invited to participate in a debate about cancer
therapies. As you can imagine, the bulk of the public was biased
against anything that even smelled orthodox. In fact, some local
oncologists had voiced their opposition to the convention so the
organizers invited them for this discussion to avoid frictions that
could cancel the event. I applauded their effort and was gladly
surprised that these guys even showed up.
t
The panel consisted of physicians and practitioners of orthodox
and alternative therapies. In the heat of the battle, I confronted the
orthodox oncologists with the facts stated in this chapter, cheers!
To the surprise of many, I also criticized the alternative practitioners who believe that even the most complicated of cases could
be resolved with green juices, a couple of enemas, and a load of
vitamins, jeers! Here we were discussing the fate of cancer patients and not one practitioner on the alternative side was a cancer
specialist, except me. My candid comments got the attention of
the crowd, which came to life with a barrage of comments and
questions.
A frustrated member of the organizing committee, by now sorry
he had invited me to be a member of the panel, stood up and asked
me, Dr. Contreras, “Which is it, do you practice alternative medicine or orthodox medicine?” A hush fell over the audience. They
were sitting on the edges of their seats. I was sure that more than
one was aiming tomatoes (organic, I hoped) at my head. “I do not
want to practice orthodox or alternative medicine,” I said. “I only
want to practice good medicine. I use any and all means to help
my patients so that, God willing, they may enjoy life for a long
time.” The tension eased and people relaxed back in their chairs.
One in the back started clapping, then another one, then a few
more. I didn’t deserve the standing ovation; patients deserve it for
being so courageous. I am very selective about what treatment I
will offer my patients but it is not the type of therapy that matters
to me. Even the most non-toxic approach can be used wrongly to
the detriment of a patient. It is how and why a therapy is used that
really matters. Will it improve my patient’s chances of survival
without jeopardizing quality of life? Would I use the same approach, chemotherapy or laetrile, if I or any of my children was
the patient?
My father and I have championed the multi-disciplinary approach
for decades. When it comes to cancer, doctors must consider every
option. There is a host of treatments that achieve tumor destruction without compromising the patient’s quality of life. Yet, I have
found that our beliefs have placed us between a rock and a hard
place. On the one hand, orthodox doctors have spoken out against
us because of our use of natural therapies. At the same time, alternative doctors have lashed out at us for our non-aggressive use of
surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
Our motive to branch away from the mainstream has not been
to gain popularity. I, like my father before me, am driven by my
concern for the well being of my patients. Thus, I refuse to rule out
any therapy option. If it will improve the patient’s quality of life
and his prognosis, I will use it. Aside from our choice of therapies,
the emotional and spiritual support we integrate into our treatment
program is the differentiating aspect of our hospital.
Doctors need to get back to the art of medicine, which begins with
building a relationship with the patient. Science must come second as a tool to guide physicians. Technology is a plus but human
touch is vital. Knowing and listening to patients will often uncover
what blood tests and x-rays can’t find. Doctors need to treat the
whole person. That means finding the physical imbalances that
cause breakdowns in the immune system. It also means addressing
the emotional and spiritual issues that depress the immune system.
These things open the door to cancer.
Remember, that part of the problem has been our search for the
cure instead of the cause. We have wasted precious time treating
the disease instead of the patient. So, what does it look like when
doctors treat the patient instead of the disease? Let’s take a look.
Chapter Three
The Road Less Traveled
There are some words a person never forgets. I’ll never forget the
first time my wife said, “I love you.” I’ll never forget where I was
when my first child said, “papa.” I’ll never forget the last words
my father said to me. These and many more are etched into the
tablets of my mind forever.
“A doctor should never tell a patient, ‘there is nothing more I can
do for you.’ A doctor can always serve a patient, even if it is just
holding his hand through a tough night.” I can still picture my
father’s face as he spoke these words. His eyes burned with a passionate focus. My father never lost sight of the human side of his
patients. His love for people grew into a vision of a hospital that
would provide care for the whole patient; body, mind, and spirit.
In the early years, he and his contemporaries were fascinated by
the wave of technological advancement in the medical field. Yet,
for many of his colleagues, the fascination became unhealthy. As
they grew more dependent upon new technology, they cultivated
an increasingly objective distance from their patients. Many of
these physicians began to believe that the wisest decisions were
those that were unclouded by emotional attachment.
So, while the rest of the pack worked hard to establish a healthy
professional distance from their patients, my dad began to spend
more time with his. He wanted to know his patients on a personal
level. He needed to find out if any emotional or spiritual stress
were contributing to his patients’ illnesses.
In the mornings, he behaved like a conventional doctor. He prescribed lab work, x-rays, and medication. In the afternoons, he
behaved quite unconventionally. He gathered his patients together
to talk, sing, laugh, and pray. He offered words of encouragement
and the warm hug of a man who cared. He began to combine sound
medicine supported with intentional emotional and spiritual support. It was this that first caused patients to begin to refer to the
Contreras Hospital as an “oasis of hope.”
Today, the Oasis of Hope Hospital is a high-tech medical/surgical facility. The hospital employs cutting-edge technology like
digital CT scanners and state-of-the-art touch screen ventilators.
Doctors have access to electronic medical files through a wireless
local area network, which allows them to access patient records
on palmtops or tablet PCs. Patients surf the web on broadband
workstations and keep in touch with loved ones via digital telephone lines. However, the hospital had very humble beginnings.
This was due, in part, to my father’s struggle to break free from the
confines of the mainstream medical community that was rapidly
driving a wedge between physician and patient.
In 1939, my father began his career in medicine. As a recent graduate of the army medical school in Mexico City, he expressed his
desire to specialize in a new field of medicine, pathology. Encouraged by his professors, he applied for an internship at Boston’s
Children Hospital, an extension of Harvard University. He was
accepted. The challenges there were memorable, but they were
nothing like the ones to come.
When he returned to Mexico, more intense challenges were waiting. The army sent him to the city of Tijuana, located at the northernmost point along the coastline of the Baja peninsula. What made
the assignment so overwhelming was the scarcity of pathologists
in those days. My father was the first in that region of the world.
Hospitals across the border in San Diego were desperate for the
services of a qualified pathologist and were quick to contact my
father. For the first few years of his practice, he would work in San
Diego in the mornings and in Tijuana in the afternoons. He was
working harder than he ever had.
What exactly is a pathologist, you ask? A pathologist is the specialist that analyzes blood and tissue samples to determine what
type of pathology (illness) is present. For example, it is the pathologist who determines whether a tumor biopsy is benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). During those early years,
my father spent hours at his microscope each day examining tissue given to him for analysis from doctors. He began to notice
that many of the organs that doctors were removing were healthy
and that there were far too many unnecessary surgeries being performed. He knew these doctors well and he knew that they had the
best of intentions, yet he felt there must be a way to improve the
diagnostic process and thereby reduce the number of unnecessary
surgeries being performed.
People were excited about his ideas and he was offered a fulltime position at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California. The job
came complete with immigration documents and a probability of
U.S. citizenship. It was a tempting offer, to say the least, but my
father declined it. In his heart he felt called to make a contribution
to his home country. So, he decided to get out from behind the
microscope and start treating patients with the goal of improving
the diagnostic process.
There are moments in life that change you as a person, that alter
the direction you choose to travel forever. For my father, that moment occurred in 1963 when Cecile Hoffman came to see him.
Cecile was a cancer patient. She had suffered several grueling
rounds of chemotherapy and had been told there was no hope.
Determined not to give up, she looked into alternative therapies.
She found one.
Cecile had traveled to Canada to acquire the substance laetrile but
she wanted to find a doctor close to home to treat her. It was this
desire that brought her to my father. She asked him if he would be
willing to oversee her laetrile treatments. In the blink of an eye,
my father’s experience with alternative therapies began. He never
looked back.
My father admitted that his hopes for Cecile were not high, given
the prognosis offered by the doctors she had seen. However, the
treatments gave her hope and she appeared to be getting stronger.
As the laetrile treatment progressed, my father became absolutely
astonished. Here was a woman, who had undergone conventional
therapies to no avail, who was given a death sentence, who was
getting better. In the end, my father had no choice but to acknowledge that Cecile Hoffman had completely overcome cancer.
Cecile went on to start an organization called “Cancer Victims
andFriends,” which birthed the “Cancer Control Society.” The
organization held its first seminar in the backyard of her home
featuring Dr. Ernesto Contreras, Sr., as the keynote speaker. As
a result, my father began to receive floods of patients who, like
Cecile, had been given no hope after chemotherapy failed to help
them. Word of mouth spread and my mother and father were faced
with a dilemma. The consultation office was too small and what
would they do with the patients who needed to be hospitalized?
The Oasis of Hope Hospital actually started in our house. My
mother always had a way of finding solutions to every challenge.
When it became apparent that a patient my father was seeing
needed hospital care, she would send us children across the street
to stay with neighbors. Presto! Our rooms became patient rooms.
She was the first Oasis nurse and administrator.
In 1966, my parents went on a trip that followed the route taken
by the Apostle Paul on his missionary travels. When the tour guide
discovered that my father was a physician, he took him to see an
ancient healing center in Pergamum. Ernesto’s eyes were opened
as he learned that the healing process in those days always involved
the combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual therapies. At
that moment, he realized that the problem with modern medicine
was that doctors had forgotten that a person has a body, mind, and
spirit. The focus had become the illness in the body.
Embracing the vision of treating the whole person, my father be-
gan his mission to improve the quality of the physical, emotional, and spiritual care of his patients. He envisioned a facility that
could provide quality medical services coupled with emotional
and spiritual support services. That vision is the Oasis of Hope
Hospital.
To this day, the hospital is guided by his vision. We continue to
blend science, compassion, and faith in all that we do. We believe that the needs of the patient should determine what therapies
should be offered. We continue to incorporate a wide variety of
treatment modalities, from the manufactured to the natural, from
the conventional to the holistic. Yet, for all the bells and whistles
that change has brought about in our facilities, the guiding principles have remained constant.
After all, everything starts and finishes with philosophy. Think
about it. It doesn’t matter what field a person is in, the highest
degree is a Doctor of Philosophy. There are Ph.D.’s in immunology, anthropology, mathematics, and literature. That is because
philosophy shapes everything you do.
The philosophy my father established at Oasis can be defined by
two guiding principles he gave to his medical staff:
1. Do no harm. Never compromise your patient’s
life.
quality of
2. Love your patient as yourself.
So simple yet profound. If a physician contemplates these principles each and every day, it will challenge him to find the most
effective treatment with the least amount of negative side effects.
Unfortunately, oncologists often lose sight of the general condition and well-being of the patient, because so much of their attention is focused and directed toward the destruction of the tumor.
Modern doctors can, and often do, unintentionally compromise
the quality of a person’s life in their blind determination to eliminate disease.
The doctors at the Oasis of Hope Hospital embrace a different
focus. Bound by oath to do no harm and to love our patients, we
only offer therapies that have the potential to improve the patient’s
health without compromising quality of life. If we determine that
juice therapy will benefit a patient, we offer it. If we believe that
chemotherapy will benefit a patient, we offer it. However, we will
always apply a therapy in a form that will avoid the negative side
effects that deteriorate quality of life.
Has the Oasis philosophy and total care approach really helped
people? Read the patient testimonials on our Internet site(www.
oasisofhope.com) if you are curious. Our patients share their cancer experience and explain how Oasis helped them overcome cancer. Want hard data? All right, let’s take a look at the numbers.
In 1981, my father conducted a retrospective study to document
the five-year survival rates of our cancer patients. It is important
to note that 95 percent of these patients came to us with stage IV
cancers after conventional therapy had failed to help them. Stage
IV is the most advanced stage of cancer. The disease reaches stage
IV when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body from the
primary site. Once patients reach stage IV, conventional doctors
generally tell them that there is no chance for survival. This is why
they come to Oasis. They are desperate for hope.
These patients were treated by our total care approach and the
Oasis overall five-year survival rate for all types of cancer was
30 percent. We also noted that 86 percent of our patients outlived
their prognosis and reported an improvement in their quality of
life.
Lung, breast, colon, and prostate cancers are some of the most
common in our world today. For this reason, we choose to study
the effectiveness of our treatment program with stage IV cancers
of these four types. In Table 1 (see page 33), we compared our
results against those from clinical trials with conventional therapies.
Compared to conventional therapies, the treatment program at the
Oasis of Hope Hospital yielded dramatically better results. What
makes these numbers even more astounding to me is the difference
between the two patient groups. The patients in the conventional
group who survived had not been through previous treatments that
would have deteriorated their natural defenses and robbed them of
vital energy. They had a fresh start. However, the patients in the
Oasis group were those who had suffered the ravages of surgery,
radiation, or chemotherapy. Yet, we were still able to help them.
TABLE 1. Survival rates for Stage IV Cancers
Type of cancer
5 yr. survival rate (%)
Number of patients
Distant1
Conventional2
Oasis
Lung Cancer
3%
200
30%
Breast Cancer
23%
130
39%
Colon Cancer
9%
150
30%
Prostate Cancer
34%
600
86%
1. Distant: A malignant cancer that has spread to parts of the body
remote from the primary tumor either by direct extension or by
discontinuous metastasis to distant organs, tissues, or via the lymphatic system to distant lymph nodes.
2. Source: American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures
2003.
Cancer is a challenge like no other because this killer has an
uncanny ability to mutate and resist adversity, like pests to pesticides, or bacteria to antibiotics. Thus, the malignancies of the 70s
are not the malignancies of today. Cervical cancer used to be a “regional” tumor that invaded the pelvis but “never” spread beyond it.
Now, it is not infrequent to find liver or even lung metastasis from
it. The aggressiveness of almost all malignancies has increased.
Where almost all prostate cancers used to be “low grade,” very
often we admit patients with extremely aggressive prostate tumors
that are refractive to any kind of treatment. The age at diagnosis
has dramatically diminished. While in the 70s most of our patients
were in their 70s, in the new millennium most patients are in their
40s.
At the Oasis of Hope, we have made pertinent adjustment to keep
the “playing field” leveled. I would love to tell you that we are
getting much better results that we did twenty years ago. I can’t.
While it continues to be true that malignant cells cannot become
resistant to cyanide, the active ingredient of amygdalin, tumors
have become more aggressive. I will tell you that in my opinion, to
be able to get results today, with how much more difficult cancer
is than it was thirty years ago, I am very happy.
Taking all of this into account, we have been very proactive in
research and development, not only in the therapeutical realm but
also in the data-managing arena. A new and comprehensive software was developed specifically for Oasis to assist the research
team to evaluate results.
We are proud of the results we have presented here from prospective clinical trials done in the 70s. I wish that obstacles would not
have been put in the way for publication in medical journals, but
I am confident in the future that we will be able to share our results with the medical community. Our administrative and medical
teams have worked hard to obtain fresh data that represents results
of the new cancer era.
We began accumulating data with our new research software in
2001 and now have results, supported with hard data of three-year
survival rates for patients with the most common cancers.
In spite of the fact that the average age of our patients is much
lower now (50s vs. 70s) and that these tumors are much more
aggressive, our preliminary results are quite encouraging. These
numbers are pretty much what they will be at the five-year point.
All the patients included in the study were diagnosed with stage
IV malignancies and conventional therapies failed them. These
are patients that literally were expected to live between weeks and
a few months.
Of the patients that came with breast cancer, 59 percent are alive
after three years of Oasis therapy; 31 percent of patients suffering from colon cancer with liver metastasis are alive when life
expectancy is really only four months; 33 percent of our patients
with inoperable lung cancer are still alive after three years of Oasis
therapy. Do not forget that 98 percent of patients diagnosed with
stage IV lung cancer die within twelve months regardless of the
treatment; 67 percent of our patients with prostatic cancer in stage
IV are alive while, according to the ACS, only 8 percent are alive
after five years.
These are very encouraging results, but we are not resting in our
laurels; we are committed to stay the course and give cancer a
black eye.
I have come to the conclusion that my father knew what he was
doing when he chose the road less traveled many years ago. His
choice has made a world of difference to many people in the last
forty years. So, what exactly does the treatment program at the
Oasis of Hope Hospital look like? Are you curious? Keep reading.
Chapter Four
Good Medicine
In 2003, when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in the atmosphere upon re-entry, I watched news footage of its brightly-lit
pieces hurtling across the sky in absolute horror. Yet what struck
me most about the incident was the search for a cause. In the days
that followed the tragedy, various NASA experts formed a host of
hypotheses. Many of the things that could have caused the disaster
were small intricate pieces of the shuttle. The importance of the
smallest part became abundantly clear to all those who followed
the story.
I wonder if we can even imagine the intensity of the safety precautions NASA engineers and mechanics follow. It takes millions
of parts to build a space shuttle and every one is of critical importance. I’m sure that each and every part is checked and tested thoroughly, from the biggest piece of framework to the smallest rivet.
If everything is to work properly, nothing can be overlooked.
And so it is with the dismantling of cancer. If the healing process
is to work properly, nothing can be overlooked: not the body, not
the mind, and not the spirit. That has been one of my two main
points thus far. We must see the body, mind, and spirit as three
critical components in the healing process. To ignore any of those
components can spell disaster.
Doctors must also be open to alternatives when conventional
medicine alone offers no benefit. That is my second main point.
What do those individual components look like at the Oasis of
Hope? Let’s take a look.
When people seeking medical help hear the word “alternative”
they immediately conjure up visions of some shady looking character selling miracle-grow hair tonic from the back of some horse-
drawn cart. It is true that there are some “physicians” of questionable authenticity in the world today, as well as some “alternative”
medical practices of dubious quality. In sharp contrast to “fly by
night” operations, the Oasis of Hope medical staff carry truly impressive credentials, from some of the finest medical institutions
around the world. Every aspect of our medical treatment program
is methodic, precise, scientifically sound and comprehensive in
nature. Oasis of Hope is a proud member of the American Hospital
Association and enjoys the reputation as being the finest treatment
center in the northwest of Mexico.
Though our focus is on the total care of the patient and not merely
the illness, we have not lessened the intensity of our medical practice. We use all that modern technology has to offer to help us
determine the true physical needs of the patient and we firmly believe in employing only those practices that adhere to strict international standards. The medical component of the Oasis of Hope
program divides easily into the following five segments: examination and diagnostic tests, detoxification of the body, stimulation of
the immune system, application of antitumor agents, and alteration of lifestyle.
Examination and Diagnostic Tests
I have always loved tennis. Ever since the days of the BorgMcEnroe rivalry I have loved the game. When I first began to
play, I was like most people. I hit the ball hard and it seldom went
where I wanted it to go. The competitor in me wanted to improve,
so I worked at it. I did improve to a point but there were areas of
my game that never seemed to go beyond a certain plateau. Then
I went to a tennis coach.
I remember stepping onto the court ready to rally back and forth
and have him explain the finer points of the game. Instead, he
set up the camcorder and we spent the next hour filming me hitting every imaginable stroke from every imaginable angle. When
the hour was up, he packed up the camera, shook my hand, and
dropped off the face of the planet for a week.
When he set up the next appointment at my home, I ran out with a
tape measure and determined that there was no way we could play
tennis in the driveway. He sat in my living room, popped the tape
he had filmed in the VCR, and deconstructed every aspect of my
tennis stroke, from the grip to the turn of my hips. I realized that
he was going to tailor-make his instruction to fit my specific issues
as a tennis player. I have never been happier to write a check in
my entire life.
When doctors at Oasis first meet a patient, they try to find out everything they can in an effort to tailor-make an appropriate treatment course. Patients are asked to bring all medical records from
previous treatments. They must provide all medication prescriptions, laboratory reports, x-rays, CT scans, MRI reports, and radiological reports that have been generated since the original diagnosis. The medical team then conducts a comprehensive study to
verify the patient’s condition and confirm if the previous diagnosis
is correct. This study is comprised of four parts: a clinical history,
an oncological examination, a series of blood tests and urinalyses,
and a radiological examination.
The formation of an accurate clinical history involves more than
the simple collection of medical records. Oasis physicians always
sit down with a patient and conduct a thorough interview in order
to construct a far more accurate picture than the pile of medical
documentation alone can generate. There is an old saying among
doctors that if you “listen to a patient long enough, he will tell you
exactly what is causing his illness.” Old sayings become old sayings because there is a good measure of truth in them.
In this interview, the doctors ask about the patient’s family history
of illness, allergies to medications, general physical state, and general emotional state. In addition, the doctors will try to determine
if there are any aspects of the patient’s lifestyle that may be affecting the patient’s health. Every doctor at Oasis understands that it
is here that the vital bond between doctor and patient begins to
form. When people are sick they want to know that they are being
listened to and that their thoughts and feelings matter.
The oncological examination is a lot like a physical exam but
the intent is completely different. Oasis doctors have been trained
to look for specific conditions related to cancer. The doctors take
note of these conditions and search for anything else that previous
doctors may have overlooked.
Complete blood panels and urinalysis are performed throughout
the treatment process. Initially, Oasis doctors use these tests to determine how well the patient’s immune system is functioning, and
how well critical organs are functioning prior to receiving treatment. However, as treatment progresses, tumor markers are taken
periodically to measure the patient’s response to the program.
The radiological examination involves a number of x-rays, CT
scans, and ultrasounds. Our doctors use these tests to determine
the extent to which the cancer has progressed. However, these
tests are also performed periodically during a patient’s stay. This
helps the team of doctors gauge whether the cancer is progressing
or digressing. The continuing tests also help doctors identify sites
of possible metastasis.
Once all of this diagnostic information has been collected, it is
integrated into an electronic patient file. A team of specialists discusses the patient’s case at a biweekly medical board meeting. In
this way, each patient benefits from the expertise of a diverse group
of physicians, who bring their own unique training and varied experience to the table. It is in these board meetings that a patient’s
treatment program is customized to address the specific needs of
the patient. At each subsequent meeting the team of doctors looks
at new diagnostic information, re-evaluates the patient’s case, and
makes adjustments as necessary.
Detoxification of the Body
I remember an art exhibit I visited once at a museum in San Diego, California. I have always been a fan of the impressionists and
there were quite a few of Monet’s paintings at this particular show.
The pieces were breathtaking, from beautiful garden scenes to explosions of color along the French countryside. Then, I stepped
into the next room. There, in a corner, was a painting of his I was
not familiar with at all.
It was a small painting, a view of the river Seine and Paris in the
distance. From the left of the painting a thin stretch of riverbank
crept into the foreground, with a little ramshackle shed sagging
low to the earth. What struck me about the painting was the color.
Unlike the majority of Monet’s work, which is a celebration of
the love affair between color and light, this painting was a mass
of grays, browns, and black. Factories belched smoke into the air
along the Parisian horizon and the river seemed to be a slog of dirt
and waste.
The painting, I found out, was Monet’s reaction to the industrial
revolution in France. As I drew nearer I could see that the paint
was smeared thick and violent. The painter’s disgust was evident
in the work. It is no secret that our drive to produce has dirtied the
planet to a horrifying extent.
Everyone comes in contact with toxic agents on a daily basis.
Toxins are present in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the
air we breathe. Many of these toxins are carcinogens, meaning
they poison the body in such a way as to make it very susceptible
to cancer. These carcinogens are present in carpet, paint, plastics,
and just about every man-made material ever manufactured.
So, our bodies constantly endure the stress of battling and eliminating these substances. Yet, cancer patients have it even worse.
Not only are their bodies taxed with the task of combating these
carcinogens, but many of the conventional medications they are
subjected to flood the body with even more toxic agents. This is
why the second segment of the Oasis of Hope’s medical treatment
program is so vital.
After the diagnostic examination, each Oasis patient begins a
mild detoxification program, designed to rid the body of many of
the harmful substances stored within it. This serves two purposes.
First,it helps the body to receive optimal benefit from the therapies
we offer. Second, it helps to restore proper function to the immune
system.
The detoxification process involves the use of intravenous solutions of vitamin C, potassium, immuno-modulators, polarizing
agents, and chelating agents. The combined effect of these substances is to gently pull stored toxins out of the tissue they are
stored in and introduce them back into the blood stream where the
body can effectively eliminate them. The process also involves
coffee or tea enemas to stimulate liver function, and high colonics
to alleviate intestinal blockages and promote proper bowel function. All of these things are fundamental to effective toxin elimination. The results are amazing.
When the detoxification process is finished, patients often comment that they feel better and stronger than they have felt in
months. The Oasis doctors know that the healthier the body is, the
better equipped it is to combat cancer.
Stimulation of the Immune System
I watched a television documentary series recently on the Navy
Seals. The series followed a group of candidates through the grueling training and testing process one must endure to become a
member of the Navy Seals. I have never seen human beings willingly subject themselves to the kind of physical punishment these
men did. They ran until they were sick... but they had to run more
to pass. They swam until water rushed into their lungs... but they
had to force the water out and finish unassisted to pass. They swam
in extreme cold and then stood on the deck of a submarine in their
trunks, shivering until their teeth chattered... but they had to get
back in the water over and over again to pass. The men who failed
the program were athletic, driven, and courageous. The men who
passed the program defy description. They are the toughest fighting machines on the face of the earth and the best the Navy has to
offer, no question. If I were going to war, I’d want men like that
on my side. Wouldn’t you?
The reality is that dismantling canceris a war. The battlefield is
inside of us, which is why the third segment of the Oasis medical
treatment program is critical. If the body is engaging in an act of
war, it needs to be as ready as a Navy Seal. The Oasis immunotherapy program prepares a body for internal combat. It provides
the body with all the vital resources needed to bolster the immune
system. The immunotherapy program is comprised of the following three components: juice therapy, nutrition therapy, and Vitamin/Mineral/Enzyme (VME) therapy.
Juice therapy is simply the daily intake of organic juices, mostly
carrot and green juices. Oasis doctors prescribe a juice regimen
initially to detoxify the body and then modify the regimen to boost
the immune system. The hospital uses certified organically grown
vegetables that are toxin free and loaded with all of the vitamins,
minerals, and phytochemicals the body needs to repair itself.
One of the best ways to provide healing resources to the body is
through foods. Unfortunately, the typical patient adheres to the
Standard American Diet (SAD). It should not come as a shock to
anyone to learn that this diet is low in fiber and high in fat, white
flour, sugar, preservatives, cholesterol, pesticides, antibiotics, and
hormones. All of these things are known to inhibit proper function
of the immune system.
At the Oasis of Hope, patients enjoy lots of nutrient-dense fruits
and vegetables that strengthen the immune system. These foods
are organically grown and free of the preservatives, pesticides,
and antibiotics that can depress the immune system. In addition,
the Oasis of Hope diet is high in fiber, promoting proper bowel
function and waste elimination. Finally, the food is delicious!
Tasty and nutritious foods are not an extra part of the Oasis program. These foods are fundamental. The reason why we use food
as medicine is because the nutrients in food are more bioavailable than the nutrients packaged in drugs and nutraceuticals. This
means that the body can process the nutrients more efficiently and
put them to work quickly. This is not true of many vitamin products on the market today.
While it is true organic juices and foods are the best source of the
essential nutrients the immune system needs to function at optimal
levels, I strongly believe in supplementing these therapies with vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Organic juices and foods can provide adequate nutrition for a healthy person, but the person whose
immune system has been compromised needs more resources than
diet alone can provide. This is why the Oasis VME therapy is the
last piece of the immunotherapy program.
The vitamin and mineral solutions used at Oasis provide powerful antioxidants that are instrumental in the detoxification process.
Oasis patients also take oral supplements that provide many of
the antioxidants and phytochemicals the immune system needs to
battle disease effectively. The combination of these three therapies
can transform the body’s immune system into an incredible fighting machine. Chapter six will explain immunotherapy in more
depth.
Application of Antitumor Agents
If you follow the sport of hockey at all you will know that the
NHL has changed considerably in the last twenty years. A steady
influx of players from overseas has increased the speed and finesse
with which the game is played. Players like Sergei Fedorov, Peter
Forsberg, and Teemu Selanne have helped to take goal scoring to
new heights. Yet, there is a player on every team whose job is as
old as the league: the enforcer.
Every team has to have a player whose job it is to prevent opposing players from hurting key personnel. In the 1980s, Wayne
Gretzky skated in the shadow of the fearsome Marty McSorley. If
an opposing player hit Gretzky too hard, McSorley took to the ice
and sent a message. The message usually involved the dropping
of the gloves and a short, but memorable, series of punches to the
head. The enforcer is a necessary component to a winning hockey
team.
Antitumor agents are the enforcers of any effective cancer treatment program. Unfortunately, many patients do not recover when
they choose surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy as an antitumor
agent. This is not because those therapies fail to destroy cancerous
tumors. They do destroy tumors quite effectively in many cases.
The problem is that they do nothing to help the body’s immune
system. In fact, these therapies depress the immune system, thereby making long-term recuperation very difficult.
This area of the Oasis of Hope’s medical treatment program is
much more effective for two reasons. First, the Oasis research team
has introduced a number of antitumor agents that are just as effective, but that are natural and do not present negative side effects.
Many patients who stopped responding to chemotherapy have responded to these natural cancer killers. Second, our program supports the use of antitumor agents in conjunction with the support
of detoxification and immunotherapy. The benefit to the patient is
that this comprehensive approach greatly minimizes the negative
side affects associated with cancer treatment. In most cancer centers, patients suffer from the treatment, but at Oasis most patients
feel quite well and maintain a positive attitude.
Alteration of Lifestyle
While patients receive treatment at Oasis, we begin to educate
them on how to live healthy lives when they return home and how
to continue therapy. Oasis doctors and nurses work with patients
and their loved ones to teach them how to effectively self-administer therapies. This is a very cost-effective way for patients to
continue therapy for a prolonged period of time.
In my many years of experience at the Oasis of Hope Hospital, I
have observed that the patients who get the best results are those
who make a real commitment to the program, the ones who have
the discipline and desire to adhere to the therapies prescribed.
A tragic error that many patients make is to abandon therapy as
soon as they start to feel better or when they experience remission.
Those who continue therapy, adhere to the nutrition program, and
come back for the follow-up program gain the best results.
This is why the hospital’s administration developed a program for
patients to come back every six months for a two-day follow-up
visit with their doctors at no charge. The follow-up program lasts a
full five years at no additional cost to the patient. At these followup visits all the doctors monitor the patient’s progress and make
any modifications to the home care therapy that will better meet the
patient’s healthcare needs. I believe that the periodic phone calls
we make to the patients have been vital because people need the
encouragement and need to know that their doctor really cares.
I encourage every patient to completely adhere to the therapies
and embrace the lifestyle changes we recommend at Oasis. I believe that a patient’s commitment to the therapy is the single most
important factor that determines how effective treatment is. That
is why this final component of the Oasis medical treatment program is just as vital as the others.
Chapter Five
Coming Into Focus
My wife is prone to exaggeration. I know this because of an experience I had early on in our marriage. I was downstairs in the
kitchen rummaging around for something to snack on when I heard
a blood-curdling scream coming from our bedroom. I rushed to
the base of the stairs and called up, “What happened?”
“Get up here, there’s a bug on the wall by the nightstand!” she
said. I rolled my eyes and began the trek upstairs.
I remembered the countless times my brother and I had played
with bugs as kids. We used to trap separate species in a jar and
watch them battle. Wasp vs. Bumble Bee, Praying Mantis vs. June
Bug, etc. “What kind of bug is it?” I hollered.
“It’s a huge spider...practically the size of my hand!” she replied,
as I reached the landing. Now I was worried. The thought of a tarantula nesting somewhere in my bedroom was not a pleasant one.
First of all, they are a lot faster than people imagine. They also
have teeth. I don’t like bugs with teeth. Then there’s the issue of
how big of a mess they make when you smash them.
I walked down the hall and entered the bedroom. My wife was on
the far side of the room penned in safely behind a barrier she had
constructed with two chairs. If she could have moved the dresser,
she would have used that, too. I slipped off my shoe and determined that it had the right amount of heft to do some serious damage. “Where is it?” I asked.
She pointed a trembling hand at the nightstand on the far side of
the bed. “It crawled down the wall behind there,” she indicated. I
tip-toed around the edge of the bed, giving a wide berth to the bed
skirt, just in case the spider heard me coming and decided to per-
form a flanking maneuver. Moving perhaps a millimeter a minute
I peered down the backside of the nightstand.
“Do you see it?” my wife shrieked. I shook my head. There was
nothing on the wall except a cricket the size of my thumbnail. “It’s
not there, now,” I shrugged. My wife had slid out from behind her
furniture fortress, walked over and looked over the nightstand.
“There it is!” she screamed, and ran out of the room. It took me a
minute to realize that the tiny cricket resting along the baseboard
was, in fact, the man-eating spider in my wife’s imagination. I had
no problem taking care of the situation.
What I learned from the experience is that perception is everything. My wife’s experience with bugs was different from mine. It
had led her to believe that bugs are big, bad, ugly, and hungry for
blood. My experience had led me to understand that bugs are cool,
unless they have teeth. Perception is everything.
It is the understanding of this simple truth that leads us to perform
a series of diagnostic tests and conduct a thorough interview when
patients come to the Oasis of Hope Hospital. A physician’s diagnosis is often shaped by perception. Much like eyewitnesses at an
accident scene give accounts of the incident that vary greatly, the
professional perspective of a physician will skew a diagnosis.
First, we want to verify that the diagnosis given to the patient
was correct. Believe it or not, we had to refuse to treat a couple
of patients who were diagnosed with cancer because further tests
revealed that they did not have the disease after all. More commonly, our diagnostic tests will uncover more predictable inaccuracies, such as the type of cancer identified and the extent of the
cancer’s progression.
Second, we want to measure the rate at which the cancer is progressing. Often, we compare test results over a period of time. The
comparison helps us to determine the effectiveness of previous
treatment. For example, say in May a patient’s tumor is measured
at three centimeters. If comparative study reveals that the same
tumor measured one centimeter in April, we know that the cancer
grew in the interim and did not respond to the previous treatment.
Third, we want to set our own benchmark, in order to determine
the effectiveness of our own treatment programs. If we administer
a therapy and then use a reference point established from a different center’s test results in conjunction with our own lab work, the
analysis is likely to be highly inaccurate. In fact, it is not uncommon for diagnostic testing to vary greatly from one place to the
next because of differences in lab conditions, testing materials,
and testing techniques. The practice of comparing results from a
variety of laboratories can truly create a situation where apples are
compared to oranges.
Finally, we want to interpret the results of the diagnostic tests
from our perspective. The doctors at the Oasis of Hope do not
view cancer as an insurmountable obstacle. Our success with the
total care approach of treating body, mind, and spirit has shaped a
much more hopeful perspective. Couple this with the success we
have seen with alternative treatment methods and our perspective
brightens further.
We are not governed by a rigid medical community that is unwilling to abandon inhumane and ineffective treatments. Other doctors are. We are not pressured by huge pharmaceutical corporations interested only in boosting profit margins. Other doctors are.
We are not crippled by years of failure and ever-rising mortality
rates. Other doctors are. It is no wonder many mainstream doctors
issue hopeless diagnoses. Their experience has cast a shadow of
hopelessness on their perspective.
Our experience is not the same. Our perspective is not the same.
There is hope. There is a way. Let me tell you in the next chapter
where that road to health begins.
Chapter Six
Natural Defense System
I grew up on National Geographic television specials. Weren’t
they just the best? I remember watching a series on the great savannahs of Africa. I still feel sorry for the poor little antelopes
that met their demises as the cheetah, a fierce and skilled predator,
would do what he was born to do. It is amazing how this lighting
fast cat can have such patience. He would lie in wait just below
the tall amber grass. He would watch in silence just waiting for
the perfect opportunity. If one little antelope would fall behind, the
cheetah would strike.
Cancer is an opportunistic disease. If the conditions are right,
any cell in the entire body can mutate. Mutations occur within
the DNA. Malignant cells develop on a daily basis but they are
extinguished or reprogrammed back to being a normal cell by the
body’s natural defense system if all is well. In its pristine condition, the human body is a strong fortress designed to fend off a
frightening number of attacks daily. Any physician who tells you
that keeping your body’s defenses in tip-top shape is not the highest priority should be stripped of a license to practice. Cancer is
lying in wait for any type of breakdown of the body’s defense
systems. When given the opportunity, cell mutation will begin
and malignant cells will begin to reproduce at an uncontrollable,
unstoppable rate. That is what cancer is. It is always a result of
genetic abnormalities that are inherited or provoked by negative
stressors. Should we fear the possibility of DNA fragmentation
and cell mutation? No. We should dedicate ourselves to maintaining the function of the immune system.
Let’s take a closer look at how the immune system works to prevent the proliferation of mutated cells. The immune system is
made up of organs and cells that form a team to protect the body
from outside agents that could be harmful. Certain cells are able to
distinguish between normal and abnormal cells. When an abnormal or foreign cell is detected, these cells will seek them out and
destroy them. There are many different types of cells that make
up the immune system including monocytes, macrophages and
neutrophils. The specific cells that combat cancer are in the group
called lymphocytes, which are one type of white blood cell including B cells, T cells and Natural Killer (NK) cells.
T cells will directly attach to and attack cancerous cells. They
are able to reproduce themselves through cloning right at the site
of the abnormal cell. They perform another important function. T
cells sound the “battle cry” and call into action NK cells. The NK
cells are little chemical factories that produce highly potent substances that will attach themselves and kill anything that is foreign
to the body. When the T and NK cells complete the destruction
of the cancer cells, macrophages and phagocytes will absorb the
dead cells and take them for elimination. This is where it is important to make sure that the lymphatic system, the liver, kidney,
lungs and bowels are functioning properly as well.
A properly functioning immune system is the best way to prevent
cancer but it is necessary to prevent a recurrence of cancer after
treatment. The problem with most conventional therapies, especially chemotherapy, is that it destroys the white blood cells. For
long-term remission of cancer, an adequate white blood cell count
is indispensable. I found that, if a person is taking chemotherapy,
a natural substance called AHCC will protect the blood cell count.
I will talk about AHCC in chapter eight.
Again, strengthening the body’s natural defense mechanism is the
highest priority in the battle against disease. Nothing should compromise that goal.
Cancer causes a systemic dysfunction. The tumors are merely
symptoms of a much larger problem. I also believe that conventional medicine continues to fail in the battle against cancer, because it has not reached the understanding of how abnormal cells
function. DNA research has still been unable to reveal this mystery. As long as doctors focus on the tumor as the point of origin,
they will be limited to a “band-aid” approach to cancer treatment.
They will continue to fail in their efforts to halt the advance of the
disease. Doctors need to embrace a different perspective. They
need to see the tumor as the red flag. They need to determine what
the body needs to restore its natural defenses and reprogram mutated cells.
Let’s take a moment to organize the concepts I am presenting here.
The failing of most treatments today is that they only attack the
tumors. But tumors are the symptom of cancer. There is no doubt
that an effective program should try to reverse or halt growth of
tumors but that will not be sufficient to avoid a relapse. Immune
function must be addressed as well because a depressed immune
system leaves the door wide open for cancer to come back with a
vengeance. But this is still not enough. Immune dysfunction provides cancer the opportunity needed to develop but it is not the
cause of cancer.
It is important to detect what is stressing the body and its immune
system. These stressors number in the tens of thousands so it may
be impossible to identify the cause of a patient’s cancer. There
must be thousands of unknown causes to complicate things further. What we know is that negative stressors generate damaging
oxygen free radicals that destabilize normal cells. A patient and
physician must put on their detective caps to at least identify glaring stressors that could be eliminated from the patient’s lifestyle.
Most of the time, patients have to figure these things out becauseit
takes a lot of time and thought and the time a patient spends with a
doctor is usuallyinsufficient. I would like to present a list of stressors that are related to cancer. This is just to help you get started in
thinking about the concept. It is not comprehensive by any means.
For example, there are over 30,000 carcinogens identified just in
the chemical industry. It would not be possible to provide a complete list. But consider the following to motivate you to look for
ways to improve your lifestyle and surroundings.
I. Diet and Nutritional factors
(represents 60% and 40% of all cancers in women and men,
respectively).
• Fat intake
• High intake of animal protein
• Smoked foods
• Salt-cured foods
• Fried, broiled or barbecued meat, chicken or fish
• Pesticides found in food
• Food additives
• Alcohol
• High intake of caffeine
II. Smoking
(It is the single major cause of cancer death accounting for
30% of all deaths)
III. Environmental Toxicity
• PCBs
• Garden pesticides
• Herbicides
• Contaminated soil, water and air
• Asbestos
• Indoor pollution (fumes and vapors produced by clean
ing products, paints, hobby supplies, radon, among oth
ers)
• Chlorinated drinking water
IV. Environmental Radiation
• Electromagnetic fields
• Nuclear energy
• UV Radiation (solar radiation)
V. Stress and Psychological Factors
• Depression
• Stress
VI. Genetics
• BRCA1
• BRCA2
VII. Viruses
• Hepatitis B virus
• Herpes simplex 2
• CMV (Cytomegalovirus)
As I said, the list could be endless. Considering the fact that we are
in daily contact with tens of thousands of cancer-causing agents, it
is a miracle that everyone doesn’t get cancer. When you consider
all of the variables involved in what causes cancer,the importance
of a properly functioning immune system, and actually trying to
reverse cancer, it becomes very apparent that a cure-all magic bullet really doesn’t exist. It is only realistic to think that we can engage a patient into a process to slowly undue cancer.
Chapter Seven
Cleaning House
One of my favorite things to do in the afternoon is to catch the
show “Iron Chef” on the Food Network. If you’ve never seen it,
you don’t know what you’re missing. The show is a cross between
Home Run Derby, the WWF, and figure skating. Iron Chef pits two
world-renowned chefs against each other in head-to-head competition, much like Home Run Derby used to pit two of baseball’s
biggest sluggers against each other. The chef’s engage in a good
deal of trash talking before, during, and after the competition,
much like the steroid-injected wrestlers of the WWF. The artistic
abilities of the two chefs are evaluated by a panel of judges, much
like a figure skating competition. What a concept!
The thing that impresses me most about the chefs featured on the
show is how clean they keep the workspace, even in the heat of
battle. I can totally identify with that mind set. I won’t even think
about starting to cook until all dirty dishes from previous meals
are loaded into the dishwasher and the food prep area is spotless.
I can’t think clearly if I have to work around stacks of dirty plates
and utensils. When the workspace is clean and organized, I’m at
my absolute best.
The same can be said about the body. The body possesses amazing
self-healing mechanisms, but an imbalanced and unclean working
environment often hampers these talents. As we live our lives, our
bodies absorb an unbelievable number of environmental and foodborne toxins. The body works hard to eliminate these toxins and
keep the internal workspace pure and clean. Unfortunately, our
dietary and lifestyle choices often make it impossible for the body
to keep up with the flood of incoming toxins. Thus, the body’s
internal environment suffers a build-up of these substances and
its ability to heal itself is compromised. Therefore, one of the first
steps in a comprehensive cancer treatment program is to clean up
the internal workspace.
At the Oasis of Hope we offer Chelation therapy to all our patients,
using a synthetic aminoacid known as ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), silymarin, and vitamin C. We incorporate foods
that have powerful detoxification properties into the hospital diet.
Finally, we recommend that all of our patients consult a doctor
who practices biological dentistry.
The wordchelation comes from the Greek rootchele meaning
“to bind.” The concept is relatively simple. Chelation therapy involves the introduction of a substance into the body that will bind
to harmful substances and pull them out of the body. It is an extremely safe and effective method of ridding the body of toxic
substances.
EDTA is a synthetic amino acid that is featured in Chelation therapy. Our bodies often store a host of toxic metals, such as lead,
iron, copper, cadmium, aluminum, and calcium. Needless to say,
the presence of these substances dirties the internal workspace and
hampers the body’s ability to heal itself. When EDTA is administered intravenously, it binds to these toxic metals in the blood.1
This makes it easier for the body to flush these harmful substances
through the kidneys.
Chelation therapy with EDTA was first used in the United States in
1950 to treat the lead poisoning suffered by workers in a Michigan
battery factory.2 The treatment was highly successful, because
EDTA is especially equipped to remove iron and copper, which
are powerful catalysts of lipid peroxidation and free radical formation. Chelation therapy is an effective tool in the effort to detoxify
the body and minimize the damages of degenerative diseases.3
Another detoxification agent used in Chelation therapy is silymarin, a substance found in the seeds of a common herb known as
milk thistle. Silymarin is actually a collection of disease-fighting
substances called polyphenolic flavonoids.4 Milk thistle has been
used medicinally for more than 2000 years, especially as a liver
protector.
Silymarin has been used clinically to treat a variety of conditions.
These include toxic hepatitis, viral hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver,
ischaemic injury, and radiation toxicity. Doctors marvel at the antioxidative, anti-lipid-peroxidative, anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory,
immunomodulating, and liver regenerating effects of silymarin.5
Let me explain two of these in detail.
Several studies have shown that silymarin is an amazingly strong
antioxidant. It is capable of destroying both free radicals and reactive oxygen species, substances that cause significant damage to
cells. Doing so decreases the damage these substances cause cells.
Healthier cells are more capable of defending themselves against
these substances. Thus, the use of silymarin has a double effect.
The first effect is the destruction of harmful substances, resulting
in healthier cells. The second effect is the enhancement of cellular defense machinery, resulting in the destruction of even more
harmful substances.6 In addition, it is this antioxidant property
that protects the liver, pancreas, kidney, red cells, and platelets
from the toxic effects of alcohol, carbon tetrachloride, cold ischemia, industrial toxins, and drug toxins.7
Silymarin also helps restructure liver cells to prevent toxins from
penetrating the organ and stimulates the regenerative ability of the
liver by helping form new cells.8 The liver is one of the most
powerful cleaning tools the body possesses. The healthier the liver
is, the more effectively the body can rid itself of toxins. Researchers found that silymarin increases the content of liver glutathione,
a potent antioxidant that helps regulate the removal of toxins from
liver cells.9 Glutathione is considered the most important agent
the body has to battle chemically-induced toxicity.
Moreover, silymarin is largely free of adverse effects, even at
large doses. It is one of the safest and most effective tools we can
use to clean up the internal environment and empower the body
to heal itself. A treatment program that does not offer silymarin
deprives patients of a powerful weapon against disease.
Another chelating agent we use in our therapy is vitamin C. For
years, doctors have known that vitamin C protects the body against
a variety of pollutants.10 As a detoxification agent, vitamin C combines with certain toxins in the body and destroys them.11 What
research tells us is that vitamin C is especially good at eliminating
toxins that originate from airborne sources, like cigarette smoke.
Some laboratory experiments showed that the protein and lipid
damage caused by cigarette smoke is reversed when the subject
eliminates exposure and undergoes vitamin C therapy.12
Other studies indicate that vitamin C can protect the body against
the tissue-damaging effect of some toxic chemicals and heavy
metals. One study compared the chelating properties of vitamin C
to EDTA and found them to have equivalent activity with respect
to lead.13 The combined use of EDTA, silymarin, and vitamin C
in chelation therapy results in a gentle but thorough detoxification
of the body’s internal workspace. Remember, cleaning the workspace allows the body to operate at maximum capacity. Any treatment program that does not attempt to equip the body to combat
disease, is deficient in its approach.
Ever seen those commercials for high-grade gasoline? Every
company wants to impress upon you the importance of putting the
right kind of fuel in your car. Well, food is fuel for the body. If we
desire to detoxify the body in order to fight disease, we must put
the right kind of fuel in it. There are many foods that are abundant
sources of antioxidants and other detoxification agents. At the Oasis of Hope, we are intentional about incorporating those foods
into the hospital diet we offer every patient. I will talk about some
of those whole foods and natural substances in the next chapter.
As I mentioned earlier, we are exposed to a host of toxins every day in the air we breathe, the foods we eat, and the water we
drink. However, there are some sources of toxic substances of
which most people are woefully unaware. Consider your teeth, for
example. Do you have any fillings, bridges, or partials? Have you
ever had a root canal performed?
Few cancer specialists have ever considered having a patient’s
mouth examined. Oncologists need to be aware of the connection
between cancer and the mercury in tooth fillings, as well as other
materials used in dentistry that are carcinogenic. Believe it or not,
most oncologists today don’t care about the dental work their patients have had and most dentists continue to use toxic materials
for fillings, bridges, and partials.
Dr. Hal Huggins, a world-renowned dentist and immunologist,
has helped me to understand the importance of biological dentistry. It is not simply the practice of removing toxic fillings. The
whole practice also involves finding non-toxic materials that are
compatible with each patient. Another doctor named Dr. Thomas
Levy developed effective lab tests to determine what materials are
or are not compatible for a patient.
At Oasis, we work with Dr. Ezekiel Lagos, a dentist that has studied with Dr. Huggins and Dr. Levy. Dr. Lagos has practiced biological dentistry for many years. His programs are comprehensive
and designed to remove the toxic dental work that can compromise
the body’s immune system. One of many services he provides is
the removal of amalgams, which are fillings that usemercury in
the alloy.
His protocol is amazingly thorough. First, he performs a serum
compatibility test of dental materials to determine which dental
materials are most compatible with the patient’s immune system.
Next, he prescribes vitamin C tablets, minerals, and digestive enzymes a few weeks prior to the total dental revision (TDR) procedure to protect the body from the toxins present in the fillings.
Then, the TDR procedure is performed, which includes the removal of fillings in the proper sequence, using a rubber dam. All
biologically incompatible fillings are removed and replaced with
the most biocompatible replacement materials. All identifiable
sources of dental infection are removed, including all cavities and
implants.
The precautions he exercises are commendable. Extra water and
negative ion generators are used during treatment to reduce the
amount of mercury vapor in the office environment. Intravenous
vitamin C is administered before, during, and after the TDR procedure. This helps neutralize any toxins that reach the blood and
tissues.
After the procedure is complete, Dr. Lagos takes additional measures to care for the patient. He administers Protamina Zinc Insulin (PZI) to increase circulation and stimulate formation of new
blood vessels. This helps to speed the healing process. Because
healing progresses faster without pain medication, strong negative
pole magnets are applied to all operative sites after the dental work
and acupressure is performed at the conclusion of dental treatment. This completely eliminates the need for pain medications in
many patients.
Dr. Lagos educates his patients, explaining which measures will
most effectively treat and possibly reverse any periodontal disease
that may be present. Toxic dental work can have such a devastating impact on the immune system that you should not put off seeing a good biological dentist.
When the toxins present in the body are removed and the internal
environment is thoroughly cleaned, the body is prepared to battle
disease. To enter into battle weak and ill-prepared is foolish. This
is why a solid detoxification program is an integral part of a comprehensive cancer treatment program.
Chapter Eight
Nature’s Pharmacy
I don’t know if you know anything about the game of softball,
or not, but I’ve learned that having the proper equipment is very
important. I remember sitting in the stands at a friend’s game absolutely dumbfounded at the ability of the players to hit the ball
great distances. I have played before and I can hit the ball a long
way, but not every time. These players were driving every ball
deep into the outfield it seemed. They weren’t all mammoth-sized
freaks of nature, either. I just about died when their tiny shortstop,
who couldn’t have been much bigger than a three-drawer filing
cabinet, stepped up and sent the ball screaming over the left field
fence. Later, I learned their secret.
You see, not all softball bats are alike. There are softball bats
and then there aresoftball bats . The bats these guys were using
were double-walled bats manufactured by the DiMarini company.
These bats run upwards of three-hundred dollars. What they do
is provide a little extra boost to your swing and add about fifty to
sixty feet to your hit. The right equipment makes a noticeable difference in a team’s ability to hit the ball deep.
The same is true of the body’s ability to ward off degenerative diseases like cancer. Given the right equipment, the body is remarkably adept at healing itself. Sadly, we often deprive our bodies of
the very tools it needs to do this job effectively. If these tools were
hard to come by, we might have an excuse, but the reality is that
they are readily available.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said, “Let your food be your
medicine and your medicine be your food.” The human body
needs the right equipment to fight off disease and maintain optimal
health. Hippocrates knew that many of the tools our bodies need
to heal are found in the natural world. Tools like phytochemicals,
proteins, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals do not need to be manufactured in the laboratories of some pharmaceutical company. The
foundational elements of the Oasis of Hope’s drive to bolster the
body’s immune system are whole foods and totally natural substances.
Whole foods are foods that have not been processed, manipulated, or manufactured by men. Instead, they exist in the same state
that God designed in the Garden of Eden. I firmlybelieve that the
foods and food extracts we prescribe are as important, if not more
important, than the pharmaceuticals we prescribe. The right foods
alone can effectively combat some cancers.
We know that free radical activity is at the root of cancer. We
know that a host of things can increase the presence of freeradicals
in the body, from smoking cigarettes to eating processed foods.
We know that free radicals can damage DNA cells and the gene
expression process. When these damaged cells reproduce, the result is often cancer and tumor development. Therefore, anything
that can significantly inhibit tumor growth, improve gene expression, or scavenge free radicals is a tool the body needs to fight
off cancer. There are so many of these natural cancer killers that I
could write a whole book about them. Here are a few of the more
important ones that we use and recommend at Oasis.
Aged Garlic Extract
Garlic and aged garlic extract is an integral part of the effort to
equip the body to ward off disease. Garlic is one of the most studied whole foods. The Wakunaga Company, producers of Kyolic
Aged Garlic Extract, is committed to the study of the health benefits associated with their product. I began using Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract as a natural antibiotic to treat ear infections. It worked
wonders with my kids. It earned a permanent spot in my medicine
bag when I discovered its effectiveness as an antistress and anti-
fatigue agent. When recent research demonstrated the role garlic
plays in the health of the heart, a thought occurred to me.
I wondered, “Could garlic present similar benefits to cancer patients and people wishing to avoid the disease?” I began to review
the medical literature. I was thrilled to find that Aged Garlic Extract constituents have been shown to be effective in inhibiting
the growth and development of prostate cancer cells,1 melanoma
cells2 and neuroblastoma cells.3 In addition, these constituents
slow the growth and development of carcinogen-induced tumors of
the bladder,4 breast,5 colon,6 esophagus,7 stomach,8 and lung.9
I was impressed with the extensive nature of these clinical studies.
Li G and collaborators10 found that two elements in aged garlic
extract, called S-ally cysteine (SAC) and S-allyl mercaptocysteine, inhibit the growth and proliferation of breast cancer cells. Not
only do they slow the development of breast cancer cells, but they
also equip surrounding cells with tools they desperately need, like
gluthathione-S-transferase and peroxidase. These elements are
critical agents in cell detoxification and gene expression. In other
words, these elements help cells get rid of the toxins that damage
their ability to reproduce properly. Remember, when the gene expression process is compromised, the result is often a cancerous
cell.
Much of garlic’s activity derives from aliin and allicin or its immediate byproducts as S-allyl cysteine and S-allyl-mercaptocysteine found in aged garlic extracts.11 Also garlic contains the minerals selenium and tellurium.
Among other aged garlic’s extract attributes are its anti-infection,12 antiaging,13 cardioprotective,14 and immune enhancement15 properties.
Aged garlic extract has the ability to prolong life span, improve
learning and spatial memory,16 prevent the decrease in brain
weight and the atrophic changes in frontal brain17 in senescence-
accelerated mouse. These results suggest that Aged Garlic Extract
might be useful for treating physiological aging and age-related
memory disorders in humans.
I am not claiming that garlic can cure cancer but I am firmly stating that the constituents in aged garlic extract are important in
combating carcinogens within the body. Thank God for garlic!
Tomatoes
The tomato is another excellent source of disease-fighting equipment. The tomato is one of the richest sources of a powerful antioxidant calledlycopene . Antioxidants are substances that scavenge free radicals. Remember, free radicals can damage cells and
the gene expression process. Several epidemiological studies show
that the regular intake of tomatoes and tomato products is associated with a lower risk of several cancers.18 A case-control study
of an elderly population linked the consistent intake of tomato lycopene to protective effects against digestive tract cancers and a
50 percent reduction in death from cancer.19
Giovannucci20 recently reviewed seventy-two epidemiological studies. These included ecological, case-control, dietary, and
blood-specimen-based investigations. All the studies examined
the effect of tomato lycopene on cancer. In the majority of these
studies there was an inverse association between tomato intake
and the risk of several types of cancer. In other words, the more
tomatoes a person ate, the lower their risk of getting cancer was.
What is important is that in thirty-five of these studies, the inverse
associations were statistically significant. The evidence for benefit
was strongest for cancers of the prostate, lung, and stomach. Data
also suggested benefit for cancers of the pancreas, colon, rectum,
esophagus, oral cavity, breast, and cervix. None of the studies
showed adverse effects of high tomato intake.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and second leading
cause of cancer mortality in men in the United States.21 Recent
studies have suggested a potential benefit of tomato lycopene
against the risk of prostate cancer, particularly the more lethal
forms of this cancer.22 An 83 percent reduction of prostate cancer risk was observed in individuals with the highest plasma concentration of lycopene, compared to individuals with the lowest
concentration.23
I have been working very closely with a company named WilsonBatiz to develop the most natural, pesticide-free tomatoes with
very high concentrations of lycopene. These tomatoes are being
sent to an FDA approved lab in the USA to verify the high content
of lycopene. Why do I mention this? Not only will these tomatoes
be used as a part of the Oasis of Hope treatment program but they
will soon be available in all major grocery stores. I applaud Wilson-Batiz for producing biologically functional foods without the
use of chemicals and introducing them to the general public.
Melatonin
Another one of nature’s wonders is a substance called melatonin.
This neuro-hormone is synthesized and secreted at night by the
pineal gland, which is located in the brain.24 Studies have found
that melatonin is a highly effective antitumor agent. Melatonin
does a number of important things. It inhibits the proliferation of
cancer cells, stimulates mechanisms that fight cancer, encourages
proper gene expression, and scavenges free radicals.25
Several clinical studies provide strong evidence suggesting melatonin can inhibit cancer cell growth.26 In one clinical study,
melatonin was administered to 1,440 patients with “untreatable”
tumors.27 In another study, melatonin was given to 200 patients
with chemotherapy–resistant tumors.28 In both studies, the fre-
quency of cachexia,29 asthenia,30 thrombocytopenia,31 and lymphocytopenia32 was significantly lower for patients treated with
melatonin than the control group. Moreover, the percentage of
patients with disease stabilization was significantly higher for patients treated with melatonin than in the control group.33 In other
words, the melatonin appeared to slow or halt the development of
existing tumors.
Other studies indicate that melatonin stimulates some of the
mechanisms in the body that combat cancer. For example, studies
show that melatonin amplifies the antitumoral activity of interleukin–2.34 Scientists have also determined that a reduction in melatonin concentration can cause deficiency in immune function. One
result of this is a reduction in tumor surveillance, the body’s ability
to recognize and combat tumor growth. The immune surveillance
system plays a critical role in prevention of cancer by recognizing
the formation of abnormal cells. T-cells in particular are valuable
for their ability to distinguish mutated cells from normal cells. Yet,
when the immune system is suppressed, the mutated carcinoma
cells are not recognized by the immune surveillance system and
the cells grow uncontrollably and become cancerous. When the
body gets enough melatonin, the tumor surveillance system functions properly.
In order for cells to reproduce properly they have to be able to accurately receive genetic instructions. Studies show that melatonin
increases the gap-junction-intercellular communication.35 Most
cancer cells have some dysfunction in gap-junction-intercellular
communication. In addition, many tumor-promoting chemicals
cause this dysfunction in intercellular communication, whereas
chemicals like melatonin improve intercellular communication.36
The better the communication, the less likely a cell is to produce
cancer.
Finally, melatonin is one of the most powerful antioxidants found
in nature. Research shows that it protects DNA, cell membranes,
lipids, and proteins from free-radical damage.37 An important
quality of melatonin is its ability to enter all cells of the body and
every subcellular compartment.38 This means that melatonin can
enter a cell’s nucleus and scavenge the free radicals responsible
for DNA damage.39 Since the radical-scavenging function of
melatonin is dose-dependent, a decreased melatonin concentration
is directly connected with a diminished protection of DNA, leading to a higher risk of cancer.40 Melatonin is a highly effective
scavenger of the hydroxyl free radicals, which is considered the
most damaging of all the free radicals.41 For all of these reasons,
the administration of melatonin is a part of the Oasis program. We
believe it is a tool the body can use to ward off disease.
AHCC
Another way to bolster the immune system is with the use of Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC), an extract obtained
from several kinds of mushroom. Mushroom extracts are known to
have immuno-modulating and antitumor effects.42 AHCC is very
effective in strengthening and optimizing the capacity of the immune system. The Oasis clinical research organization conducted
a study comparing patients taking chemotherapy combined with
AHCC and another group taking chemotherapy alone. One of the
nasty side effects of chemotherapy is that it can severely depress
the immune system. We found that AHCC truly protected the immune system from the depressing effects of chemotherapy. AHCC
can reduce the side effects of radiotherapy, as well. AHCC also
improves the patients’ quality of life by reducing nausea, increasing appetite, and decreasing anxiety. Furthermore, there are no side
effects to taking AHCC as an immune-enhancing supplement.
Like melatonin, AHCC also stimulates the immune surveillance
system. Cancer cells release several kinds of immune suppressive factors, which inhibit the body’s ability to combat the disease. When the immune system is suppressed, a chain reaction of
sorts occurs which results in the inhibition of the antitumor effects
which should come naturally to the body. The anticancer immune
response fails when the production of killer cells fails. Thus, re-
versing and restoring the suppressed immune system is a very important part of cancer treatment.43
AHCC restores and reverses a depressed immune system by inhibiting the immune suppressive factors produced by the cancer cells,
increasing production of the cells that attack cancer, and stimulating the activity of the killer cells in particular.44 For this reason,
AHCC is an important part of the well-rounded Oasis treatment
program.
Coenzyme Q10
Another powerful agent is CoQ10, or Coenzyme Q10. This is a
naturally occurring, fat-soluble substance that possesses vitaminlike properties. It is an essential component of the energy production process within our cells. While it is true that CoQ10 occurs
naturally within the body, the levels of the substance decline as we
age.45 If a person has an addiction to cigarettes, high cholesterol,
or heart disease these decreases can be significant.46 There is
clinical evidence linking cancer and immune system dysfunction
to lowered levels of CoQ10.47 What does this substance do that
is so important?
It acts as an amazingly effective antioxidant by scavenging free
radicals.48 This means that CoQ10 defends against the onset of
cancer and destroys existing cancer. One study49 tracked patients
with a variety of cancers. The study showed that 60 percent became free of the cancer during therapy with CoQ10.50 Another
report51 noted partial remission of breast cancer in over 10 percent of the “high-risk” patients studied. These patients were treated
with CoQ10. The same study also reported that the metastases of
the cancer ceased during CoQ10 treatment.52 Both the regression
of the primary tumor and the end of metastases in these cases are
understood to be the result of the stimulating activity of CoQ10
on the immune system.53 Doctors would be foolishnot to equip
patients with this powerful, disease-fighting weapon.
Olive Oil
Yet another functional food is olive oil, the principal source of fat
in the Mediterranean diet. Olive oil has been associated with health
benefits that include prevention of several varieties of cancers, and
the bolstering of the immune system.54 Olive oil contains components that contribute to its overall therapeutic characteristics.
Extra-virgin olive oil contains a considerable amount of phenolic
compounds such as tyrosol and oleuropein, which exhibit antioxidant effects.55 Specifically, these compounds are excellent scavengers of free radicals.56 Recent studies showed that phenolic
compounds in olive oil help to suppress carcinogenesis.57 It is
so easy to incorporate things like olive oil into diet. We all should
do it!
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The omega-3 fatty acids are not only essential nutrients, but are
also fantastic disease fighters. Several thousand scientific publications testify to the widespread agreement among medical professionals regarding the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. For years,
doctors have recognized the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, a
diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Studies show that individuals who
get a sufficient amount of these fatty acids in their diet experience
a significantly lower risk of cancer mortality.58
Some of the best sources of these acids are fish, plants, and oils.
Fish are high in the omega-3 acids known as alpha-linolenic acid
(ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and decosahexaenoic acid
(DHA). Plants and oils contain the acid known as ALA. Of the
plant sources; nuts, seeds, and soybeans are relatively high in ALA
content.59 The contents of ALA in soybean and canola oil is approximately 7.8 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively. Flaxseed oil
is a particularly rich source of n-3 fatty acids mainly ALA with
an average content ranged from 57-69 percent although it is not
a commonly used food oil.60 Table 2 (see page73) illustrates the
AHA content of a variety of sources.
Silymarin
Silymarin is a polyphenolic disease fighting agent derived from
milk thistle.61 Several studies have shown that silymarin is a very
strong antioxidant, capable of scavenging both free radicals and
reactive oxygen species, which results in a boost to cellular defense mechanisms.62 For the last nine years, scientific researches
have been studying the cancer chemo-preventative and anticarcinogenic effects of silymarin. These studies have shown that silymarin affords exceptional protection against cancers of the skin,
prostate, breast, lung, colon, and bladder.63
Not only does silymarin protect against the onset of cancer, but
it can significantly inhibit the growth of existing cancer, as well.
Two new studies show this inhibitory effect.64 Researchers from
these studies conclude that silymarin can be an effective agent for
both prevention and intervention. So, how does it work?
One of the marks of cancer cells is the reckless abandon with
which they reproduce. Silymarin inhibits this cell proliferation
and alters the cell cycle progression in various types of cancer.65
When this happens, the cancer cells begin to suffer substantial
apoptotic death, or programmed death.66 The interruption to the
cell cycle helps the body to differentiate between healthy cells and
cancer cells, thus enabling the body’s immune system to target
the cancer more effectively.67 Currently the Oasis scientists and
chemists are developing a pharmaceutical grade silymarin solution that can be administered through injection. I have high hopes
that it will prove to be a convenient and powerful antitumor agent.
Stay tuned!
The study of functional, whole foods and natural, disease-fighting
substances is just beginning. The modern medical community has
barely opened the door of nature’s medicine chest. I encourage
you to get online and learn as much as you can aboutthese things
and put them to work for your health.
Table 2: Terrestrial plant sources of alpha-linolenic
acid (ALA;18:3n-3) *
Source
Alpha-linolenic acid (g)
(100g edible portion, raw)
(ALA)
Nuts and seeds
Almonds 0.4
Flaxseed 22.8
Mixed nuts 0.2
Peanuts 0.003
Pecans0.7
Soybean kennels
1.5
Walnuts, black 3.3
Walnuts, English and Persian
Vegetables and legumes
6.8
Beans, navy and pinto, sprouted (cooked)
Broccoli (raw) 0.1
Cauliflower 0.1
Lentils (dry) 0.1
Lima beans (dry) 0.2
Peas, garden (dry) 0.2
Radish seeds, sprouted (raw) 0.7
Soybeans, green (raw) 3.2
Soybeans (dry) 1.6
Spinach (raw) 0.1
Grains
Barley, bran 0.3
Corn, germ 0.3
Oats, germ 1.4
Rice, bran 0.2
Wheat, bran 0.2
Wheat, germ 0.7
Fruit
0.3
Avocados (raw) 0.1
Raspberries (raw) 0.1
Strawberries (raw) 0.1
· Data from Kris-Etherton PM, Taylor DS, Yu-Poth S et al. Polyunsaturated fatty acids in the food chain in the United States. Am
J Clin Nutr 2000; 71 (Suppl):179S-188S.
Chapter Nine
A Combined Effort
One of my favorite board games ever is Risk. The object of the
game is to conquer the world. You place your armies strategically
around the board trying to capture territories held by opposing
players, all the while seeking to protect those that you already possess. On the surface, it is a fascinating game of strategy, timing,
and quick thinking. Beneath the surface, however, is an even more
fascinating game of alliances.
Much like the game of Monopoly, the game of Risk has a reputation for dragging on for days. This is due to the unseen aspect of
the game I mentioned. As a player, I noticed that whenever an opponent began to gain momentum, gobbling up surrounding territories, an unspoken alliance was formed between the other players
in an attempt to restore balance to the board. If your attempt to win
was too heavy-handed, you were sure to face the combined efforts
of the rest of the players. Needless to say, heavy-handed attempts
to rule the world rarely won the game. Just ask Hitler.
Cancer is heavy-handed. There is nothing subtle at all about the
presence of a malignant tumor in your kidney or lung. Cancer
makes no attempt to veil its threat. It is a disease that gathers momentum quickly and attacks with frightening ferocity. Only a concerted and combined effort can repel such an attack. This is the
principle behind the Metabolic Therapy my father pioneered.
My father believed that to defeat cancer, it was necessary to attack
it from every possible angle. He understood the importance of both
direct and indirect approaches. The foundation of the Metabolic
Therapy is its multi-faceted approach. Yes, we do attack the tumor,
but we also stimulate the immune system and address causal factors. Our total care approach requires the patient’s participation.
Cancer treatment is not a spectator’s sport. The patient must be
prepared for the fight. We go through a process of structuring a patient for success by providing the necessary resources to face the
threat at the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. There is no
question that the alliance between body, mind, and spirit can even
the playing field against cancer. In chapters that follow, I will take
you through our newest therapies as well as mind/spirit medicine
but let me begin with the foundational program my father designed
to dismantle cancer’s strongholds. In this chapter, I will share how
we can sensitize cancer to treatment, attack the tumor, cut off its
supply lines, and take out cancer’s transportation system.
Let ́s start with sensitizing the tumor. Did you know that cancer defends itself against attacks? Tumors can become resistant to
chemotherapy, radiation or whatever else you throw at it. It would
make sense that if you could dismantle cancer’s defenses, you
could then take it out, right? What are the ways that cancer defends itself? One way is that tumors encapsulate themselves with
blood vessels that are so restricted that antitumor agents can’t get
through. Another way is that tumors amass high concentrations
of a substance calledglutathione . Glutathione is the element that
makes tumors resistant to treatment. Is there a way to lower the
levels of glutathione in tumors so that they would become sensitized to anticancer treatments? The answer is yes. For glutathione
to be produced in the cells, it needs another substance calledcysteine. Please continue with me on this trail that it took many years
to identify by top researchers. Is there a way to lower the level of
cysteine? Yes. Cyanide will deplete the supply of cysteine. But,
isn’t cyanide a poison? Cyanide is toxic to our body but it will
not make us sick in very low doses derived from a whole food
source. You eat cyanide-rich food everyday if you eat apricots,
pineapples, apples, or any of the other thousand cyanide-toting
foods found in nature. The cyanide in these foods is present in a
nutrient calledamygdalin. Amygdalin can release cyanide within
malignant cells, depleting the supply of cysteine. As a result, the
intracellular concentration of glutathione is diminished. This will
sensitize the tumors to antitumor treatments including chemotherapy, Ozone therapy, and UV light.
We also use amygdalin to attack the tumor. The cyanide released
by amygdalin is one of the best killers of malignant cells as well.
Amygdalin has a double punch. It lowers cancers resistance to
treatment and it releases cyanide to kill cancer cells directly. If you
wish to read the technical explanation of how these two functions
of amygdalin occur, please refer to appendices I and II at the end
of the book.
If amygdalin can be so helpful, why aren’t more cancer treatment
centers using it? The first argument is that it can be toxic because
it contains cyanide. The second argument is that it doesn’t work.
Let’s talk about amygdalin’s toxicity first. We have used amygdalin with tens of thousands of patients since the early 1960s. You
might say that we know a thing or two about amygdalin which
is also known aslaetrile andvitamin B17. The cyanide released
by amygdalin does not reach toxic levels that can harm or even
discomfort patients. But don’t accept my word as the only proof.
A famous researcher named June de Spain conducted a laetrile
toxicity study that was published inThe Little Cyanide Cookbook
(Am. Media). She took three groups of rats. Group one was fed
white bread. Group two was fed whole wheat bread. Group three
was fed laetrile. After three months, 75 percent of rats that were
eating white bread were dead. The white bread survivors were at
death’s door. The rats that were eating whole wheat bread were in
good shape. The rats who were eating laetrile were all alive and in
the best condition of the three groups. The conclusion of this FDA
sponsored trial was that, “white bread is 70 times more toxic than
laetrile.” No, laetrile/amygdalin presents no risk of toxicity.
What about the argument that laetrile is not effective? We have
conducted several prospective clinical trials that demonstrated
that amygdalin is quite effective in the combined treatment of the
most common and deadly cancers including inoperable lung cancer, advanced prostate cancer, stage IV breast cancer, and colon
cancer with liver metastasis.1 We submitted these studies to several medical journals but they were rejected. Some editors cited
that our studies did not have control groups. But it is scientifically
valid to conduct a study and compare results with similar studies
published in medical journals. That is what we did but we were
still denied publication. Other editors stated that our study was not
designed properly and that the conclusion was not definitive. Others were quite candid. They rejected the studies because the use of
amygdalin was too controversial. I think the third group was honest and I appreciated getting a straight answer from them.
The only study ever published on the use of laetrile in cancer
patients was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and conducted at the Mayo Clinic and three other prominent oncological
centers in the USA. The results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine(NEJM) in 1982.
In this article “A clinical trial of amygdalin (laetrile) in the treatment of human cancer,”2Dr. Moertel,the head researcher, reported
that of the 178 patients that were accepted in the study “not one patient was cured or even stabilized” by laetrile. Furthermore he said
that “several patients experienced symptoms of cyanide toxicity”
and that “blood levels of cyanide approaching the lethal range”
were reported. “Laetrile has had its day in court...” says Moertel
and ends authoritatively, “The evidence, beyond reasonable doubt,
is that it [laetrile] doesn’t benefit patients with advanced cancer,
and there is no reason to believe that it would be any more effective in the earlier stages of the disease.”
I was astonished at the finality of the verdict, but what disappointed me the most was the editorial bias of theNEJM. Why did the
NCI and the Mayo Clinic bypass all scientific protocol? This study
had no control group. It was terribly designed and not one of the
researchers had any experience with laetrile. TheNEJM, in normal
conditions, will not publish studies that are not peer reviewed by
experts on the subject. There are very few laetrile experts. I know
all of them personally and the researchers consulted not one of
us.
Years later, after a presentation at an oncology congress of our
results in advanced breast cancer with amygdalin, a colleague angrily confronted me using the microphone placed in the center
isle for questions. He was infuriated because I continued to use
amygdalin in spite of the fact that Dr. Moertel, hadproven , beyond
reasonable doubt, that amygdalin was dangerous and ineffective.
The scene was surreal; the room was filled to capacity, and, if a
tongue depressor had fallen from a doctor’s gown, all of us would
have heard it. His forehead, which reached almost to the back of
his head due to an almost complete male-pattern-baldness, was
bright red, his jugulars were ingurgitated, and I didn’t know if I
wanted to run scared or laugh. But every one was waiting for my
rebuttal.
Obviously he did not believe the results I had just presented
which, by the way, were quite impressive. I took a deep breath and
calmly asked, would you stop using Taxol (a chemotherapeutic
agent used commonly in breast cancer) if I showed youone article
that said it was not effective for the treatment of breast cancer?
He just turned around and left. I assumed his jugulars were still
ingurgitated because his baldhead turned even redder. There were
no more questions because everyone in the room knew that there
are dozens of studies showing the inefficacy and high toxicity of
Taxol in the treatment of breast cancer, yet most oncologists continue to prescribe it.
Because of one study, amygdalin has been written off. Our positive experience with amygdalin obliges us to continue offering it
to patients. I believe that it is irresponsible to state that amygdalin
is a cancer cure. It should be looked at as a therapy that can be
combined with conventional treatments or other antitumor agents.
This is the appropriate future of amygdalin. At Oasis, we do not
use amygdalin as a stand-alone drug. We capitalize on its ability
to make tumors more susceptible to other therapies. This is why
we have a multi-faceted program including an integrative scheme
of drugs, diets, procedures, and medical care. By sensitizing the
cancer, we are able to avoid using aggressive therapies that can
destroy the patient’s quality of life. It is time for physicians to
consider how to use amygdalin in combination with conventional
therapies at lower, non-aggressive dosages. Amygdalin, combined
with vitamin C, can deplete glutathione and cysteine in tumor cells
and make it possible to destroy the cancer with very low doses of
chemotherapy, phytochemicals, UV light irradiation, and ozone.
Though I have spoken out against the aggressive use of chemotherapy, it should be considered for use in low non-toxic doses
when combined with amygdalin.
Scientific controversies sometimes take centuries or even millennia to resolve. When Copernicus published his “heliocentric”
theory of the universe in 1543 it caused a hellish turmoil. He had
to flee to Germany in order to escape being burned at the stake
for suggesting such a blasphemous idea. But his 16thcentury nonfanatic and objective peers had well founded scientific concerns.
They asked him,“I f your doctrines are true, Venus would show
phases like the moon.” You see, at that time astrologers always saw
Venus shining bright with the naked eye because the telescope had
not been invented. He answered humbly,“You are right; I know
not what to say; but God is good, and will in time find an answer
to this objection.” Almost a century passed when Galileo Galilei
in 1633, looked through a telescope and saw the phases of Venus.
Copernicus theory, that the earth circulates around the sun and not
the other way around, was confirmed and he was vindicated.
Likewise, for decades scientists, in spite of the fact that there are
many scientific publications about the antitumor effects of amygdalin, have had some founded and unfounded concerns, about the
use of cyanide to treat cancer.
Amygdalin has a bright future using another technology being
developed at the Imperial College in London. It can be used as a
“prodrug.” Scientists have found a way to attach amygdalin to a
cancer-seeking antibody that will deliver it directly to the tumor
and release the cyanide. Our plans at Oasis are to further develop
the concept of amygdalin as a prodrug.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, British scientists began studying the mechanism by which some plants use cyanide to defend
themselves from insects. They also studied its application in the
treatment of cancer. Dr. Rowlinson-Busza, and Dr. Epenetos from
the Imperial College in London, published an article in the journalApplications in Clinical Oncology titled “Cytotoxicity following specific activation of amygdalin in monoclonal antibodies”3
showing that cyanide is a potent antitumor agent.
The development of technology has led to the possibility of treating cancers by exploiting the differences between malignant and
normal cells. The concept currently under investigation in England
is the use of antibodies to carry enzymes to tumor cells, where
they activate a prodrug. This is known as antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (ADEPT). In this process, tumor-associated
antibodies, directed against tumor antigens, are linked to enzymes
and administered systemically. A prodrug is then administered
and converted by the enzyme into an active cytotoxic agent at the
tumor site. Therefore, the development of a prodrug system that
activates an agent with a different mode of action and without any
known resistance would be highly desirable.
A recent research project (Syrigos K et al, 1998)4 studied a novel
version of antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy, with the
use of amygdalin as the prodrug. If amygdalin could be activated
specifically at the tumor site, then malignant cells would be killed
without the systemic toxicity usually associated with chemotherapy. The hydrolysis of amygdalin by the enzyme ß-glucosidase
results in the release of the powerful poison cyanide.
The results of cytotoxicity studies demonstrate that amygdalin
alone is virtually non-toxic having some cell killing effect only at
high concentrations. The enzyme ß-glucosidase is also non-toxic,
when amygdalin is not present. When amygdalin is exposed to the
enzyme ß-glucosidase, either in its free form or conjugated to an
antibody, then its toxicity is considerably increased 25-40 fold.
Additionally in this study, amygdalin was found to be significantly
more toxic in vitro in combination with specific antibody enzyme
conjugate than with the unconjugated enzyme at the same concentration. This finding is explained by the fact that, as antibody ßglucosidase conjugate is bound to the cancer cells, the activity of
amygdalin increased up to 115 fold in a dose-dependent fashion.
Most of the cyanide is released in the vicinity of the tumor cell diffusing through the cell membrane, causing cancer cell death.
Using this technique in 1999, Professor Monica Hughes, chair of
the Plant Molecular Genetics at the University of Newcastle upon
Tyne in the North East of England, has treated brain tumors in rats
obtaining 100 percent tumor destruction without any side effects.
The September 7, 2000 headline of the UK’s newspaperIndependent read, “Magic Bullet of Cyanide Could Kill Cancer Cells”.
The article goes on to state, “Cancer patients of the future could
be treated with a powerful ‘magic bullet’ that attacks tumours with
a cyanide cocktail derived from the cassava plant, scientists disclosed yesterday at the British Association’s annual meeting...”
In 2002, Kousparou, Epenetos, and Deonarain,5 from the Imperial
College in London reported in theInternational Journal of Cancer
that, “Antibody Guided Enzyme Therapy of cancer cells producing cyanide results in necrosis of targeted cells” without damage
to the normal cells.
When I met with Dr. Mahendra Deonarain and Dr. Epenetos in the
Department of Biochemistry at the Imperial College, Dr. Deonarain said “what we have done is to generate cyanide in the cancer
cells only,” and Dr. Epenetos asserted, “cyanide is the best anticancer agent nature has to offer.”
These studies in England vindicated my father’s many decadesof
ostracism and humiliation. My dad rejoiced when he read the reports. I credit him with this pioneering work but I’m sure, if he
were alive today he would tell me that if a “magic bullet” were
ever to be found, it would be one made by God, found in nature.
Could it be cyanide-rich apricot seeds? As impressive as the laetrile record is, amygdalin is only the first of a multi-pronged attack against the disease. A magic bullet will never address all of
the variables related to cancer.
It is not enough merely to launch a direct attack against the “muscle” of cancer. It is equally important to attack the “brains” of
cancer. If the tumor cell is the muscle, then the programming that
dictates tumor cell behavior is the brains of the disease. This is
why the use of pancreatic enzymes is so important.
There is a key difference between normal cells and tumor cells.
Normal cells are programmed to grow rapidly in their juvenile
state, but the program changes as they mature, eventually dictating
some function for the cells to serve within the body. Tumor cells
never mature. Their programming freezes in the juvenile state, and
they continue to reproduce at an alarming rate and send trophoblasts through the body’s circulatory system in order to spread
to other areas. So, how do pancreatic enzymes address this problem?
Enzymes are essential biochemical units that play a necessary role
in virtually all of the functions of every organ system in the body.
Life as we know it could not exist without the action of enzymes.
Enzymes are catalysts, substances that accelerate and precipitate
the biochemical reactions that control life’s processes in the organism. Each enzyme has a specific function in the body that no
other enzyme can fulfill.
Digestive enzymes are secreted along the gastrointestinal tract
and break down foods, enabling the nutrients to be absorbed into
the blood stream for use in various bodily functions.
Proteases (proteolytic enzymes), one of the three main categories
of digestive enzymes, are found in the stomach juices, pancreatic
juices, and intestinal juices. Proteolytic enzymes help to digest
proteins.
Plant extracts with a high content of proteolytic enzymes have
been used for years in traditional medicine. Besides proteolytic
enzymes from plants, such as papain and bromelain obtained from
papayas and pineapples respectively, “modern” enzyme therapy
additionally includes proteolytic pancreatic enzymes, such as chymotrypsin, tripsin, pepsin and pancreatin.6 Proteolytic enzymes
are used primarily to aid digestion and absorption of proteins contained in food. In addition to aiding digestion, proteolytic enzymes
have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, fibrinolytic,
immune modulating, and edema-reducing properties.7
Results from recent research studies showed that proteolytic enzymes can produce great benefits in cancer therapy by improving
the quality of life, reducing both the signs and symptoms of the
disease and the adverse effects caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy,8 and prolonging the survival time.9
Proteolytic enzymes act as immunomodulators by raising the impaired immunocytotoxicity of leukocytes against tumor cells from
patients and by inducing the production of distinct cytokines such
as tumor necrosis factor, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6 and IL-8.10
There are reports on animal experiments claiming an anti-metastatic efficacy of proteolytic enzymes associated with inhibition of
growth and invasiveness of tumor cells.11
All these antitumoral activities do not depend on the proteolytic
activity of enzymes, but of their effects on the modulation of immune functions, including the anti-inflammatory activities and
their potential to accelerate wound healing.12
Proteolytic enzymes are also used in the treatment of pancreatic
insufficiency, cystic fibrosis, digestive problems, viral infections,
surgical traumas, autoimmune disorders and sports injuries.13
Enzyme therapy can significantly clear “immune complexes”
(combinations of antibodies and antigens) from the body. When
the body is incapable of releasing these immune complexes, an
inflammatory process begins that can lead to serious disease, often
of the autoimmune type.14 Dramatic results have been reported
with the use of enzyme therapy in such diseases as rheumatoid
arthritis, multiple-sclerosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.15
Another important part of our treatment strategy is to cut offtumor
supply lines. Think of the armies of ancient Greece laying siege to
enemy cities in an effort to starve them into surrender. The siege of
a tumor is accomplished with the use of shark cartilage.
Shark cartilage inhibits the growth of blood vessels which feed
growing tumors, thereby restricting the vitality of the tumor. In
other words, shark cartilage puts cancer on a starvation diet. In a
clinical trial conducted by Dr. Ernesto Contreras and Dr. William
Lane, it was noted that tumors frequently experienced significant
reduction in size within one to three months of the initial treatment.16
Shark cartilage contains mucopolysaccharides, glycoproteins,
collagen and glycosaminoglycans, including chondroitin sulfate
A, B, and C. Due to these components, shark cartilage:
• Accelerates wound healing. Glycosaminoglycans are responsible of this effect.17
• Has a powerful anti-inflammatory activity due to its mucopolysaccharide components.
• Stimulates the immune system.18
• Contains anti-angiogenesis factors (glycoproteins) that inhibit
the formation of new blood vessels.19
The growth and metastasis of malignant tumors are dependent
on angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, to meet the
progressively increasing demand for oxygen and essential nutrients. Angiogenesis and anti-angiogenesis are multifactorial and
counteracting mechanisms that involve a number of stimulatory
and inhibitory factors secreted by tumor cells, non-neoplastic cells
within thetumor, and by macrophages, mast cells, and endothelial
cells. Dr. Folkman first proposed inhibition of angiogenesis as a
mechanism for controlling tumor growth in 1971.20
Recently there is a dramatic increase in the development and use
of anti-angiogenic agents for the treatment of cancer. The first reported biological inhibition of angiogenesis was bovine cartilage.
The most potent variety of cartilage appears to be that derived
from shark. Two glycoproteins, sphyrnastatin 1 and 2, have been
isolated from shark cartilageand reported to have strong anti-angiogenic ac tivity and to inhibit tumor neovascularisation.21
There has been considerable debate concerning the use of shark
cartilage as an anti-angiogenic agent in cancer therapy. Evidence
has been presented indicating that shark cartilage can inhibit blood
vessel formation. Tumor neovascualrization is considerably reduced in rabbit corneas by implanted copolymer pellets containing
shark cartilage extract. Considerable skepticism has been voiced
with regard to oral administration of shark cartilage owing to digestive breakdown of cartilage within the gastrointestinal tract.
However, results from recent studies demonstrated that oral shark
cartilage has significant anti-angiogenic activity, suggesting that
this skepticism is unfounded.22 Researchers demonstrated that
shark cartilage is effective in inhibiting tumor growth and increasing survival rates in animals and patients with cancer. In one of
the studies with tumor-bearing rats, shark cartilage administered
orally extended the survival time by 30 percent.23
Researchers from a recent study concluded that oral shark cartilage does not abolish carcinogenesis but delays progression in
renal tumors in mice.24 Dupont E et al., 199725 showed that a
liquid extract from shark cartilage inhibited blood vessel formation and endothelial cell proliferation in vitro. The liquid extract
from shark cartilage showed in vitro antitumor activity against human breast cancer, human ovarian adenocarcinoma, and human
epidermoid carcinoma. This agent inhibited tumor-cell growth in
murine mammary carcinoma and reduced metastases in the Lewis
lung carcinoma model in mice.26
In a clinical trial in the USA, 50 percent of patients who took
dried cartilage powder daily, reported improvements in quality of
life and appetite, and reduction in pain.27
Let’s summarize before we go on. With amygdalin, we deliver
cyanide to attack the malignant cells and the amygdalin sensitizes
the tumor to other anticancer treatments. The pancreatic enzymes
are used to increase the activity of the immune system’s anticancer
cells. We use shark cartilage to cut off the tumors supply of new
blood vessesls. The next step is to derail cancer’s transportation
system. We use emulsified vitamin A because it travels the same
paths as cancer cells do and it has antitumor qualities.
Studies, initiated in Germany, tried to determine why Norwegian
sailors had very low incidences of lung cancer though most had
smoked cigarrettes since early childhood. The answer was found in
their diet. They consumed large quantities of raw fish liver which
is rich in vitamin A. The logical deduction was that high doses of
the vitamin A prevented the growth of lung cancer in long-term
smokers.
Researchers developed a high concentration A-Emulsion in which
one drop contains 15,000 International Units (IU) of vitamin A.
Researchers were able to administer, in gradually progressive
doses, over a million IU per day without producing toxic effects.
Emulsified vitamin A has a number of beneficial effects. In doses
of 100,000 to 300,000 IU per day, it works as a potent immunestimulant. In doses of 500,000 to 1,000,000 IU per day, it serves as
a potent antitumor agent, traveling through the lymphatic system
to tumor sites throughout the body.
The combined effect of amygdalin, pancreatic enzymes, shark
cartilage and vitamin A emulsion is impressive. When you attack
disease from every available angle, you afford the patient the maximum chance of recovery. This is why these four agents comprise
the foundation of my father’s “Metabolic Therapy.”
There are even more exciting things on the horizon. Let’s look at
some new therapies we have been researching, developing, and
using since the 1990s. These include ozone therapy, ultraviolet
light and other agents found in nature.
Chapter Ten
Something In The Air
A nephew of mine told a story recently about an adventure he
had when he was in college at San Diego State University. He and
a friend were hanging out on a Friday night. They had driven to
Pacific Beach to grab a late night bite to eat and then stopped by
a local pool hall to shoot a few racks of nine-ball before closing
time. When they piled into my nephew’s VW beetle and headed
home, it was almost two ‘o’ clock in the morning.
Halfway home, they changed freeways and began to drive past
a rough area of the city. It was right at that moment that the car
decided to run out of gas without warning. I say without warning
because my nephew asserts that the gas gauge, speedometer, and
odometer did not work in this vehicle. Remember, this is a college
student’s car. Well, there they stood on the shoulder of the road at
two in the morning, the sound of police cars and circling helicopters just a little too close.
Five minutes passed and neither of these geniuses could think of a
way out of the mess. This was before the days of cell phones, mind
you. Suddenly, a gigantic four-wheel-drive passed by, swerving
onto the shoulder about a hundred yards ahead. Its taillights flared
and it backed up to them. I was not comforted by the fact that the
gun-rack in the window was empty. The driver’s door opened and
the meanest-looking man my nephew had ever seen stepped out
of the truck.
His full beard covered half of his massive chest. He wore a battered and torn biker vest and a pair of greasy blue jeans. The thick
boots on his feet punished the ground as he strode around the car
to where the boys stood. My initial assessment was that this was a
self-proclaimed freedom fighter, what you might call a “free radical.” My nephew tried to remember if he had ever filled out a last
will and testament. “Got a problem?” the man growled.
“No. No problem,” the boys spluttered.
“Aren’t you broke down?” he said, glancing at the car.
“Oh that,” my nephew answered, “Yeah. We’re out of gas.”
“Be right back,” he rumbled and he was gone. His four-by roared
up the freeway, over the crest of the hill, and was gone. Five minutes later, he was back with a three-gallon can of gasoline. He
emptied the can into their car, shook their hands, and drove off
again. The boys were absolutely stunned. Help had come from the
unlikeliest of places.
While it is true that the metabolic therapy we have pioneered has
helped many people, there is a limitation to it. You see, metabolic
therapy is a program designed to achieve long-term results. It takes
time to establish long-lasting results. This means that we rarely
witness tumor regression during the patient’s initial treatment.
When a patient is facing cancer, they want to see immediate results. This is why many patients turn to chemotherapy. While chemotherapy may shrink tumors very quickly, the long-term results
have been less than impressive. In fact, they have been pretty
frightening.
Yet, we understand that the emotional health of a patient can be
improved when there is evidence of immediate progress. We knew
we could not turn to conventional therapies for those results because of the damage they cause to a patient’s immune system. We
began exploring other options. Just like my nephew, we discovered that help sometimes comes from the unlikeliest of places.
When most people hear the word ozone, they think of a protective
layer of our atmosphere but aren’t really sure what it is beyond
that. Ozone is oxygen but with the molecular structure O3instead
of O2. This additional molecule makes ozone a highly reactive
oxidant. If inhaled, ozone can do some serious damage to our bodies. However, there is an application of this substance that is very
therapeutic. But first, let’s take a closer look at ozone.
In nature, ozone has a good side and a bad side. In the stratosphere,
it acts as a shield, deflecting harmful UV irradiation. However,
in the troposphere, ozone is a major component of the smog that
harms humans, animals, and plants. When we breathe it, ozone
can cause serious pulmonary and systemic side effects because it
is such a powerful oxidant.1
It has been shown that ozone possesses broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.2 This means that it fights the bacteria that cause
infection. In the First World War, it was used by medics to save
the lives of wounded soldiers suffering from gaseous gangrene.
Today ozonated solutions and ozonated oils are still used to treat
wounds and a host of infections. Ozone therapies are used to treat
fistulae, abscesses, ulcers, gingivitis, stomatitis, and osteomyelitis. In addition, ozone has been widely used in sewage treatment
and water purification processes because it is such an effective
bacterial scavenger.3
On the world scene, ozone therapy became an alternative medical
approach in 1954, when Wehrly and Steinbart first described its
application. They found that while the human respiratory tract reacts very negatively to ozone, human blood does not. In fact, when
exposed to appropriate ozone concentrations, our blood tames the
strong oxidant properties of ozone, thus eliminating any acute side
effects. The benefits derived from this therapy are staggering.
Oasis doctors know that ozonation of the blood improves the exchange of oxygen in the blood, activates the immune system, and
increases the efficiency of the antioxidant system. What is most
exciting to us is how these three things combine to effectively
retard or reverse tumor growth. It is obvious to our doctors that
ozone is useful in the treatment of degenerative diseases like cancer.
Over the last seven years, doctors at Oasis have advanced the use
of ozone therapy, the results have been extraordinary. Our patients
have experienced measurable tumor reduction quickly, sometimes
in as little as two weeks. For long-term results, we still believe that
metabolic therapy is vital, but it is wonderful to get fast results,
too. Let me explain how ozone therapy is administered.
Autohemotherapy is the process of bringing small quantities of
blood into contact with ozone.4 This ozone therapy is performed
each year on several hundred thousand patients around the world,
mostly in Russia, Poland, Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Italy,
Austria, Belgium and Cuba.5 The medical ozone used in this
therapy is an O2/O3mixture with a low ozone concentration. The
ozone generators used to produce this mixture are incredibly precise.6
Autohemotherapy is typically performed in one of two ways. The
standard technique is to withdraw 150-250 ml of blood and expose
it to a O2/O3mixture at a specified ozone concentration, followed
by intravenous reinfusion of this blood into the patient.7 At the
Oasis of Hope, we have the option of running an extracorporeal
loop to ozonate all of the patient’s blood. This second technique
involves automatically running the blood through a continuous recirculating device which mixes ozone and blood in a closed loop
before reinfusing it.8
The results from two very recent studies proved the safety and
effectiveness of the ozonation of blood in humans. No significant
changes in blood chemistry or other parameters were found. The
patients felt no particular sensations during treatment. The treatment session was followed by a feeling of well-being and euphoria, lasting several hours. Most importantly, there was a total lack
of side effects. The authors conclude that blood ozonation is clinically valid, without side effects and that there are at least four ar-
eas, namely infectious diseases, vascular disorders, degenerative
diseases (particularly metastatic cancer), and pathologies related
to immune depression, where this treatment could be useful when
orthodox therapies have failed.9 All of these factors fall within
the principles embraced by Oasis doctors.
So, how does the ozone actually work? Personally, I amfascinated
by the cascade of effects ozone provokes when it is introduced into
the bloodstream. Ozone decomposes in blood and interacts immediately with several substances, namely fatty acids, cholesterols,
proteins, and carbohydrates.10 When the ozone decomposes a
series of reactive oxygen species are quickly produced, the most
important of which is hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
A sudden rise in H2O2concentration triggers very different biochemical activity depending upon the type of cell the
H2O2penetrates.11 If the H2O2penetrates red cells and endothelial cells, three things happen. First, there is an increase in the
delivery and release of oxygen by red cells toward the tissues.12
Then, in areas of the system that were constricted, endothelial
cells enhance release of nitric oxide (NO)13 resulting in dilation
of blood vessels and improving oxygen flow.14 Finally, the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) is inhibited due to the
improvement of oxygenation in the neoplastic tissue. Remember,
tumors feed on blood vessels. Thus, anything that reduces the formation of blood vessels helps to restrain tumor growth.
When H2O2penetrates cells known as leukocytes, it induces the
production of specialized biological assassins called cytokines.
These include interleukins, interferon, and tumor necrosis factor.15 The cytokines launch an array of immune functions, such
as macrophages and neutrophils, which slow tumor growth and
metastasis.16
The presence of H2O2in the blood increases the efficiency with
which the body eliminates oxidants. We know that persistent oxidative stress from free radicals, or oxidants, is at the root of degen-
erative diseases like cancer. Countless findings show that aging,
chronic viral infections, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases are all accompanied by a reduction in the
body’s ability to detoxify itself properly.
Without question, ozone therapy will rapidly become an essential
tool for oncologists and an integral part of comprehensive treatment programs. Over the next few years, Oasis doctors will continue to refine the use of ozone therapy. I expect even more dramatic results.
Chapter Eleven
Seeing The Light
We live in the age of invention. The push to continually bring a
new product into the marketplace is intense in the business world.
Yet, it is not the steady stream of gadgets that really grabs my
attention. It is the inventors who have always baffled me. I have
always wondered what it must be like to see the world as they see
it.
What was it that made the first rocket scientist think, as he gazed
up at the moon, “I can get there.” At what point in his life did Ben
Franklin watch a lightning storm and think, “I can catch one of
those.” It is that mindset that fascinates me.
The 20thcentury was a time of amazing innovation in the medical
industry. These technological advancements particularly interest
me. For one, my practice and my patients benefit from them. The
men behind such innovations have earned my respect and admiration because they are willing to take such radical departures from
the mainstream in search of new hope. One such technological
advancement is the use of ultraviolet light as an antitumor agent.
Researchers began to consider the use of ultraviolet light to treat
disease in the 1870s. At the time, scientists understood that ultraviolet light was extremely efficient at eliminating bacteria. Dr.
Neils Ryberg Finsen and several other prominent physicians suggested the use of ultraviolet light to destroy infectious organisms
in the blood. Finsen was one of the first researchers to irradiate
blood with ultraviolet light. In 1903, he won the Nobel Prize in
Medicine for his work treating the blood of 300 lupus patients
with ultraviolet light.1
The next major innovation in the therapy came in 1928, when
American researchers E. Knott and V. Hancock used a device that
made extracorporeal ultraviolet blood irradiation (UVBI) possible. They conducted the first successful treatment of septic infection with the therapy. Later work revealed that ultraviolet light
has a positive influence on the immune, respiratory, and hormonal
systems. So, why has it been regarded as a new therapy?
Sadly, the answer is all too clear. A host of new antibiotics and
vaccines were introduced in the 1950s. The medical industry was
so enthusiastic to use these products that the UVBI device was
placed on a shelf. What is most disappointing about this is that
for many illnesses, like hepatitis and pneumonia, UVBI treatment
was clearly superior. Thankfully, interest in UVBI therapy was
rekindled two decades later in Russia.2 Let me explain how the
actual treatment is administered.
There are two pieces of equipment needed to administer extra corporeal UVBI therapy. The first, obviously, is a source of ultraviolet light. The second is an irradiation chamber made from quartz
glass, which is permeable for ultraviolet radiation.
The standard procedure is known as the Knott technique.3 First,
doctors draw 1.5 ml of blood per pound of body weight, never
exceeding 250 ml. The blood is drawn into a transfusion flask
containing a small amount of an anticoagulant such as heparin or
citrate. This additive prevents clots from forming in the bottle or
the tubing.
Next, the blood is pumped through the special tubing at a controlled rate. The currently acceptable rate is approximately 0.5
ml/sec. The blood flows through an irradiation chamber, called a
cuvette, where it is exposed for up to ten seconds to a controlled
amount of ultraviolet irradiation. The specialized lamps used generate a therapeutic band of ultraviolet light.
Finally, when the correct amount of blood has been irradiated and
stored in a flask, the flow is reversed and the blood is irradiated a
second time when reinfused into the body. However, at the Oasis
of Hope, an extra step is added. Blood is ozonized just before reinfusion because the combined effectiveness of the two therapies
is greater than if they were administered separately.
The entire procedure takes thirty minutes. This includes tenminutes
for set-up and ten minutes for clean up. The new devices at Oasis
contain disposable crystal reaction chambers and disposable tubing to avoid the use of potentially contaminated materials.
The treatment variables can be tailored to the needs of each patient. Some patients receive treatment daily, others weekly. Some
patients receive a course of three sessions, others as many as eight.
Some patients treat 100 ml of blood each session, others up to 250
ml. Yet, the best thing about the therapy is how it works.
During the early years of UVBI therapy, Knott and his associates
sought to explain how the treatment obtains its therapeutic effects.
Research has identified two probable modes. The first explanation
is that the ultraviolet irradiation destroys bacteria and viruses in
the extracted blood and creates a kind of “vaccination effect.” In
other words, when the irradiated blood returns to the body, the immune system identifies the dead bacteria and viruses in it. It then
seeks out and destroys the same bacteria and viruses in the non-irradiated blood in the rest of the body.4
The second explanation is that when the small fraction of irradiated blood is re-infused, it begins to spread throughout the entire
volume of blood in the body. These irradiated blood cells give
off secondary radiation. The secondary radiation destroys viruses,
bacteria, and toxins. In addition, it activates white blood cells.5
Strong evidence suggests that UVBI therapy has a prophylactic
action against cancer. A study in East Germany measured the number of mutations produced by chromosomes. After six sessions of
UVBI therapy, researchers found that the number of chromosomal
mutations diminished. These doctors believe that UVBI therapy
can actually stimulate DNA repair.6
Compared to orthodox treatments, UVBI therapy is extremely
safe. A Russian study of 2,380 sessions of UVBI therapy revealed
that only 1.3 percent of patients experienced side effects and that
they were mild.7 The benefits clearly out-weigh the slight potential of mild side effects.
The next major advancement in the therapy came in 1987 when
a new form of UVBI termed extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP)
therapy was introduced. This procedure entails combining a special
type of ultraviolet light with a photoactivatable substance called
8-MOP. ECP therapy was originally used to treat patients with cutaneous T-Cell lymphoma (TCL).8 Today, ECP remains the only
FDA approved tumor-targeting selective immunotherapy for the
treatment of TCL, and it is in use in over 150 centers worldwide.9
The treatment is also used to treat a wide variety of diseases like
systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.10
One of the key components to this therapy is the 8-MOP, a naturally occurring substance produced in large quantity by the common weed Queen Anne’s lace.11 Smaller quantities can be found
in a variety of fruits and vegetables, such as figs, limes, parsnips,
and celery. Scientists recognize that 8-MOP is activated by ultraviolet energy. When activated, 8-MOP cross-links with cellular
DNA.12
When the 8-MOP is activated by UV Light and does not react
against a target chemical, it returns to be a harmless substance, and
is eliminated from the body within a day. 8-MOP is only effective
after direct activation by ultraviolet energy and that exposure takes
place outside the body. In other words, 8-MOP targets only those
cells simultaneously exposed to both the drug and the activating
light. Therefore, because the body’s organs have not been exposed
to the ultraviolet light, they are spared any adverse reactions from
the 8-MOP activation.
Other toxic effects commonly associated with DNA binding
agents, such as bone marrow suppression, hair loss, or mucosal
erosions are also not encountered. In addition, opportunistic infections are avoided because the therapy is so precise. This is not
true of conventional systemic chemotherapy, which typically induces generalized suppression of the immune system. These features make ECP the most “controllable” potent therapy currently
in clinical use.
The therapy itself involves several steps. First, white blood cells
are harvested extracorporeally and bathed in plasma containing
8-MOP, which has been circulated through an ultraviolet irradiation field.13 Then, the solution is re-infused into the body. The
mechanical stress to which the monocytes were subjected to during the procedure induces white blood cells known as monocytes
to convert into dendritic antigen presenting cells. These are the
cells which initiate immune reactions by identifying targets for the
immune system.14 In regard to cancer, dendritic cells initiate an
antitumor response from the immune system by identifying malignant cells as a target.15
Treatment with ECP therapy also increases the production of the
cytokines the immune system uses to kill malignant cells. Specifically, the therapy increases production of interferon and interleukin-2.16 Without question, the most important anticancer cytokine
is interleukin-2. A cancer immunotherapy requires the transfer of
tumor-distinctive antigens from malignant cells to “professional”
antigen-presenting cells, like dendritic cells, to initiate clinically
relevant antitumor responses from the immune system, like the
production of interleukin.17
At Oasis Hospital we combine ozonization with UV irradiation of
the blood. On one hand, irridiation of the blood begins the process
of transforming monocytes into immature dendritic cells. On the
other, it is known that oxidative stress generated during ozonization and UV irradiation of the blood at the moment of reinfusion
promotes maturation of dendritic cells.18
There is a recent modification to standard ECP therapy called
transimmunization therapy (TI). This is a way of tailor-making
the therapy to individual patients. The first major difference is
that the white blood cells are cultured overnight after exposure to
the 8-MOP and ultraviolet light.19 The white blood cells called
monocytes transform immature dendritic cells.20 These immature
dendritic cells are aggressive and can internalize apoptotic cancer
cells. So, the white blood cells are cultured overnight with a solution of dead cancer cells, removed from the patient in surgery.
The immature dendritic cells ingest these cancer cells stimulating
a “specific” antitumor immunity. When the antigen-loaded dendritic cells mature, they are intravenously returned to the patient
and stimulate a “personalized antitumor vaccine.”21
The various applications of ultraviolet light as an antitumor agent
are exciting. My hope is that more and more cancer treatment facilities will incorporate emerging therapies like UVBI, ECP, and
TI into their programs. These therapies are incredibly effective
and do not destroy the immune system or compromise the emotional health of the patient.
Chapter Thirteen
Mind Medicine
Our history to some measure defines us, in much the same way as
the roads we have traveled are connected to our current location.
This is certainly true of my father. His character as a physician
was shaped by his childhood experiences. His character, in turn,
shaped mine.
When the Mexican revolution began, my father’s family lost everything.1 They were a “riches to rags” story. As a young boy, he
learned hardship first hand. The loss of comfort and securitywas
devastating to all members of his family, but it absolutely broke
his father. My grandfather abandoned my grandmother and left her
to fend for herself and five children. He died shortly thereafter.
My grandmother became a state teacher. Today, teachers in California threaten to strike year after year because of low wages, but
imagine a teacher in Mexico City in the 1930s! She barely made
enough to survive. Yet, there was a life and vitality to that family
that defies explanation.
Somehow, in the midst of those years of hardship, my father discovered the healing power of music and humor. He learned from
experience that these things were medicine to the soul and kept
him motivated. He learned that life was better when he heard the
music in the world around him and saw the humor in the situations
he encountered in everyday life. He worked hard to internalize
these lessons.
When my father, with the help of an uncle, was admitted into the
military medical school, he arrived ready to study with books under one arm, his guitar under the other, and a smile as his umbrella.
He had learned that music and humor could bring smiles to the
faces of those who lived under difficult circumstances. He knew
he would see difficult circumstances as a medical student.
My father graduated from medical school in 1939 and practiced
medicine for almost twenty-five years before opening the Oasis
of Hope. He arrived to work everyday with patient files under one
arm, a guitar under the other, and a smile as his umbrella. Nothing
had changed. In the mornings, he consulted with patients. In the
afternoons he would gather them together to talk about hope, love,
and faith. He would play songs for his patients. He would take
requests. He invited them to sing along. He offered to put their
original lyrics to music.
My father studied joke books so that he could help his patients
laugh. He had excellent comic timing and the jokes were pretty
funny, but that wasn’t what made people laugh the most. What
really made them laugh was the fact that the comedian wore a lab
coat and a stethoscope. I never realized the impression that made
on people until recently.
A former patient of his from years ago pulled me aside recently.
“You know what I remember about your father?” she asked, tugging at my sleeve. “He made me laugh...really laugh.” She smiled,
“What do you get when you mix onions and beans?” I shrugged
my shoulders. “Tear gas! Your dad told me that joke,” she said. We
shared the laugh together.
My father had a kind word, a song, a joke, and a hug for his patients. When patients were scheduled to leave the hospital, my father would go to their room to sing one last song with them before
they left for home. I have never seen a doctor love his patients like
my father.
It was the true love for his profession and his patients that made
Dr. Ernesto Contreras, Sr. much more than a physician. He was
a healer. His legacy lives through the Oasis of Hope staff today.
We continue to love our patients in word, song, and laughter. We
understand that the alteration of the patient’s lifestyle is rooted in
their emotional well-being. Following in our founder’s footsteps,
we provide activities, beyond our counseling program, that promote excellent emotional health.
There is no question that music speaks to our hearts in a way mere
words can not. Paul Simon once talked about the songOnly Living Boy In New York and commented that he liked the particular
chord progression he chose to transition to the chorus of the song
because studies reveal that it evokes tears. When I read that, I was
fascinated. I had owned the recordBridge Over Troubled Water
as a kid and that song always moved me to tears right at that spot.
The fact that music can elicit particular emotions makes music a
powerful tool in the hands of a physician.
Clinical research indicates that music can positively influence
the respiratory system, the circulatory system, the immune system, and the endocrine system. Music can slow your respiratory
rate. Music can lower your blood pressure. Music can bolster your
body’s defense mechanisms. Music can stimulate the production
of endorphins.2 Couple these effects with the emotional benefits
and you’ll agree that more doctors should prescribe music for their
patients.
Most people are aware that each type of music affects their emotions differently. For example, when the teenage boy next door is
playing music that sounds like a cat being dragged behind a noisy
cement truck, I tend to pull my hair out by the roots. Conversely,
when I listen to music I enjoy, I often relax and breathe easier.
Teaching patients to incorporate music into their lives helps them
shift focus off of the pain and stress that accompany a battlewith
cancer.
The first time I listened to Bill Cosby talk about his adventures
with his brother Russell, I cried. Tears rolled down my face because my stomach hurt from laughing so hard. At one point, I had
to stop the recording because I couldn’t breathe. I actually thought,
“If I don’t hit the stop button and calm down, I am going to die.”
I pictured my parents walking into my room and finding my body
on the floor, hands on my stomach, a smile plastered to my face.
I had never been exposed to comic genius like that before. Bill
Cosby introduced me to the notion that there are people who are
truly gifted at making people laugh.
Do you know there is healing power in laughter? Dr. Norman
Cousins3 knew. When he was diagnosed with a degenerative disease, he checked himself out of the hospital. He went home and
cured himself by adopting a diet of healthy foods, juices, and humor. He didn’t get weak medicine either. He didn’t settle for the
cheap laughs that so many films today embrace. He surrounded
himself with comic genius; Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Lucy and
Desi, Cosby, etc. He ate, drank, and was merry. His illness went
away.
Don’t chalk his success story up to luck, either. He knew what he
was doing. He knew about the benefits of good diet and laughter.
Laughter helps the body release endorphins, obtain oxygen, and
relax tense muscles. Science proves it to be a healing force. At
Oasis, we encourage patients to incorporate humor into their lifestyle. We watch videos featuring gifted comedians. We enlist the
service of laughter therapist Shary Oden. We help patients discover the wide variety of opportunities for laughter in their day-to-day
world. We believe the healing power of laughter can help restore
a person to a healthy emotional state and help them maintain that
balance.
Want to see something funny? Take a man in his forties and show
him a box of your kid’s Legos. Then, say that you need to make a
phone call and leave the room for sixty seconds. When you return,
he will be playing with the Legos. If he isn’t, I will personally pay
you a dollar. There is something about the act of creating something that draws humans as the moon draws water. This is why
art therapy is so important. It satisfies the basic human need to be
creative.4
Oasis is a house of art. Situated around the hospital are original
sculptures and paintings. All of the pieces are related to healing
and uplifting passages from scripture. In a number of places, including thewww.oasisofhope.com Internet site, you can see some
artwork done by patients during their stay at Oasis. Making an
original work of art can bring happiness and peace. Creating and
talking about art helps patients to cope better with the stress of
battling disease.
I have a confession to make. My father and I did not invent music
therapy, laughter therapy, or art therapy. Yet, these things make the
Oasis of Hope a unique treatment center. Few cancer centers incorporate these therapies into the treatment approach even though
countless clinical trials indicate the benefit they offer patients.
The objective of these therapies is not to create warm fuzzy feelings, but to restore the mind to a balanced emotional state. Science
has confirmed the therapeutic value of these therapies and we have
witnessed positive changes in the majority of our patients for over
forty years. That history alone defines who we are at Oasis and
who we will continue to be.
We have a vision of how to improve treatment outcomes for our
patients over the next five years. Yes, we will continue our efforts on the medical front, but the revolution we are starting in our
program is on the emotional and spiritual fronts. My father did
so many things right being lead by intuition or promptings of the
Spirit. When he started in 1963, there were not many studies if any
that supported the medicinal value of emotional support, but today
the science behind it is confirmed by hundreds of clinical trials.
Now, there is enough data available to develop a treatment program that fully integrates therapies for the body, mind and spirit as
my father envisioned over four decades ago.
Our starting point, or justification for investing in the design of a
counseling program, is that if we can help patients manage negative emotions and transform them into positive emotions, a boost
to their immune systems will result and their probability of overcoming the illness will increase. If negative thought processes are
not adressed, they will continue to depress the immune system
making it more difficult for the body to recover. Aside from the
physical benefit, we are aiming to aid patients obtain peace and
overcome the fear of cancer. Illness can rob people of the joy of
life. Even if a person has cancer, or especially if a person has cancer, they can make the most of each day and enjoy it. But most
people find it hard to celebrate life when they are paralyzed by
the fear of imminent death or devastating treatment experiences.
Emotional victory over cancer is priceless. Some patients have
told me that they never lived life the way they wanted to until it
was threatened by cancer. Once death loomed, they began to value
each day and live to the fullest. But these are the patients that
were not paralyzed by fear. I will share the stories of three such
patients in the chapter entitledGreat Expectations . In the previous chapter, I outlined the negative emotions most cancer patients
experience including shock, denial, fear, guilt, inadequacy, anger, and resentment. Clinical studies demonstrate the correlation
of negative emotions and improper immune function. Either the
immune system can be depressed or it can be overactive which
can be equally as destructive. A study by Ishihara, Makita, Imai,
Hashimoto, and Nohara on patients with coronary heart disease
concluded, “Psychological factors are considered to influence the
immune response.”5 Another study published by researchers at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison concluded that, “If you’re
sad or blue, you’re more likely to get sick.”6 There is an abundance of clinical studies that confirm the link between negative
emotions and improper immune function. At the same time, there
are many studies confirming that positive emotions enhance immune function. Bennett, Zeller, Rosenberg, and McCann wrote,
“Laughter may reduce stress and improve NK cell activity. As low
NK cell activity is linked to decreased disease resistance and increased morbidity in people with cancer and HIV disease, laughter may be a useful cognitive-behavioral intervention.”7 Another
study indicates that, “Positive mood states and mirthful laughter
enhance various aspects of immune functions.”8
We have formed a group of advisors including psychologists, ministers and counselors/psychotherapists to help oversee the formation of our program. Together we have defined the main theories,
principles and techniques that will be utilized in a group setting to
help people transition negative thoughts into positive emotions.
We will present a unique combination of cognitive restructuring,
affirmation therapy, and logotherapy.
Cognitive restructuring is a very intriguing and powerful way to
help people process or react to situations in a way that is helpful versus harmful. It is stated in one publication that, “Once our
individual negative thought patterns are identified and examined,
a technique called ‘cognitive restructuring’ helps us change the
automatic way we think by finding positive, affirming approaches
to life’s ups and downs.”9 The automatic thoughts are very important because negative or positive emotions are stimulated from
that point. It is so common for a cancer patient to automatically
tie every event to the disease. If they feel stiff in their muscles or
if they start with a little cough, instantly they think, “Maybe the
cancer has spread or maybe it is growing.” The reality is that stiff
muscles and coughs are everyday occurrences for humans and
they are probably not linked to cancer. But if a person’s automatic
thought is that every physical discomfort means that they are losing the battle to cancer, it will be very difficult for them to do away
with immune depressing emotions.
I believe that we can show a patient how to reprogram the way
he perceives and processes information about his illness through
cognitive restructuring and affirmation therapy. I also believe that
through these techniques, a patient can burn new neuron chains to
replace previous negative thought patterns resulting in immunization from future stimulation of negative emotions.
Affirmation therapy will be a vital part of our program because so
many people face an identity crisis upon receiving a cancer diagnosis. No matter whether a person is a top politician or a friendly
person that works at the local library, their whole life and existence is reduced to the wrong identity. They are now cancer patients and nothing more. All else is lost. It is common for people
to feel this way, but a person is never a disease. Life should not be
put on hold. No one should ask permission from cancer to enjoy
life. Life is to be lived regardless. Cancer must be put into the right
perspective.
It is such a wonderful thing to see people rediscover themselves
and realize that cancer is just a circumstance and it does not define
who they are. Affirmation therapy is an effective way of helping
people find value. By affirming a person, they can begin to realize
that even in difficult circumstances, they can have meaning and
can share meaningful moments with others. They can have a positive influence in other’s lives.
One of the most meaningful experiences that takes place at Oasis
of Hope is the forming of friendships between patients. To see
one patient forget about his own condition to focus to the needs of
another patient is moving. When this happens, it becomes apparent that the patient has discovered himself again. In fact, there are
times when a patient discovers himself for the first time through
the experience of cancer.
Life becomes invaluable when it is meaningful. The whole point
of cognitive restructuring is to do away with negative automatic
thoughts that depress the person physically, emotionally and spiritually and replace them with uplifting cognitions that open them
up to meaningful experiences. Then, affirmation therapy emphasizes the significant and positive attributes of a person that make
life meaningful. Cancer is temporary. But meaning is everlasting.
For long-term success, patients will be introduced to logotherapy. Viktor Frankl, the pysichiatrist who invented logotherapy,
eloquently explains the direct link between life and meaning in his
landmark bookMan’s Search For Meaning . He also explains the
link between hope and life.10 I propose that if a person does not
sense meaning in his life, he will not find the will to live. Even
if we accomplish improvements through cognitive restructuring
and affirmation therapy, a person must find a reason to live or the
results will be temporary.
In the next chapter, I will share with you from my heart about
where many of my patients have found meaning. I too have found
meaning for life in this world through a spiritual understanding.
Chapter Fourteen
Learning New Tricks
Children are like sponges. They can learn anything...and quickly.
I’m convinced now that if you place a child in a room full of random gears, transistors, etcetera, you can come back in an hour and
the child will have assembled a fully functioning combustion engine. A child’s capacity to absorb new information and assimilate
it into everyday life is truly amazing.
Take a small boy, for example. By age three, a small boy’s brain
will develop an area known to medical professionals as the “tape
recorder.” This area of the brain enables the boy to memorize just
about anything and use it in context. This can lead to some very
embarrassing moments.
One time, my nephew and his family were visiting a new church
and after the service they walked out into the foyer where the pastor was greeting people. The pastor leaned down to my nephew’s
young son Joshua and asked, “How are you today, young man?”
“I’m five-years-old today,” Joshua replied.
“My goodness,” said the pastor, his eyes widening, “You’re getting old!”
“I’m not old,” Joshua answered, “When you get old, your butt
gets big and jiggly.” My nephew still wears a paper bag over his
head.
While children have the capacity to learn just about anything,
including extremely difficult subjects like nuclear physics and
macramé, adults seem to have lost some of this ability. Just sit a
technologically illiterate adult down in front of a computer and
this point will become amply clear to you. After he breaks the CD
tray, by using it as a cup holder, and kicks the tower when you suggest he “boot up,” you will realize you’re engaged in a pointless
exercise.
I remember the story a teacher told me about the time his school
got a state-of-the-art copy machine in the staff workroom. He was
preparing some materials one morning when he heard someone
muttering behind him. He turned around and there was this veteran teacher hunched over the machine. “What’s wrong Judy?” he
asked walking over to help.
“This stupid thing won’t work right,” she grumbled.
My teacher friend looked at the machine and then noticed that
someone had left a book in the document feed tray on the side.
“Here’s your problem,” he said, “Someone left a book in the feeder tray.”
“I did,” she frowned, “I’m trying to copy chapter seventeen, but
it’s not working.” It did not take a tremendous amount of effort on
my friend’s part to help Judy out that morning.
While we can laugh at stories like these, there is a hard truth here
when it comes to dismantling cancer. It is critical that the cancer
patient learn a host of things in order to alter lifestyle in healthy
ways. It is unreasonable to expect to have victory over cancer
without eliminating the very things that make us susceptible to
the disease. There are three areas of lifestyle that must be altered:
environment, diet, and activity.
I’m not sure the average person realizes just how toxic the environment can be. There are many things around us that can create
toxic stress in our bodies. Sometimes these things are obvious. If
you are a lung cancer survivor and you live in a home where three
people smoke cigarettes, youknow something has to change. But
do you know that the residual fumes from toxic house cleaners
can have the same effect? Do you know how many toxins find
their way into the water that comes from your tap? Do you know
how many toxins are belched into the air and make it through the
inadequate filtration system that comes standard on most home
air/heating units? The good news is that there are some simple and
easy ways to eliminate toxins from our everyday environment. At
Oasis, we are committed to teaching our patients how to do that.
Another source of toxins is the food in our diet. The chemicals
used to process many popular foods items can place incredible
amounts of toxic stress upon the body. The good news is that these
chemicals are not the source of flavor in these foods. Eliminating
the use of processed foods does not mean eliminating flavor from
the diet. It is true that non-processed foods are often more expensive, but if the cost of saving a few bucks is cancer, it’s worth it
to pay the extra money for healthy non-toxic food. It is also true
that non-processed foods are prone to spoil faster, but it really isn’t
that hard to buy smaller amounts of food and double the trips to
the grocery store. It is important to teach patients which foods to
avoid as they walk the aisles of the grocery store.
While eliminating toxic products from the diet is important, it
is equally important to add foods that equip the body with the
tools it needs to prevent disease. There are many foods that contain powerful disease preventative substances. Again, these are
normal, tasty foods like tomatoes, red grapes, garlic, and olive oil.
At Oasis, we have cooking classes to help patients learn how to
incorporate many of these “super-foods” into their diet.
Finally, the types of activities we engage in can be an incredible
source of stress. This is the most difficult aspect of lifestyle to
alter. Many people live incredibly busy lives and are used to functioning for prolonged periods of time under intense stress. They
don’t live in a balanced state and fail to relax and exercise. This
kind of activity can severely depress the immune system, making
a person much more susceptible to disease.
It is important to talk candidly with cancer patients about scal-
ing back or eliminating the activities that cause stress and unrest.
Among other things, our physical therapist teaches patients how
to breathe better to increase oxygenation, perform mild exercises
to gently increase circulation and metabolic function. Learning activities that encourage the release of stress is a huge part of disease
management and prevention.
Again, this is a treatment component that is sorely lacking in the
vast majority of cancer centers around the world, but not at Oasis.
Our education program is comprehensive and we encourage both
the patient and her companion to attend every session. In this way,
the patient doesn’t have to make the changes alone and the companion derives a benefit, as well. Finally, we prescribe a five-year
follow up program, to encourage patients to make the changes for
life.
It is so important to alter lifestyle in healthy ways. To continue doing the same old things and expect different results is the epitome
of insanity. If people can learn to make common sense changes in
their environment, diet, and activities, I know that their chances of
remission will increase dramatically and their chances of getting a
degenerative disease like cancer again will virtually disappear.
Chapter Fifteen
True Spirit
Maybe it’s just me, but I get choked up when I feel blessed. It
happened to me just the other night at the dinner table. My girls
were home and my wife and I sat at the dinner table with my five
children. It was kind of wet and drizzly outside, but the house
was warm and cozy. Conversation was “ping-ponging” around the
table and I had a moment. I sort of disappeared. I leaned back
a little, everybody forgot about me for a second, and I just got
to watch. My daughters and son laughed and their hands flew as
they related some story to my wife, who laughed with them. My
youngest watched them intently, his big eyes soaking in everything. I sat, tears rolling down my face, thinking to myself, “My
God! Why me? What have I done to deserve this family? What a
blessing they are to me.”
Think over the last year. Do you remember any blessings you
received? Maybe you got an unexpected check in the mail, maybe
someone had an exceptionally kind thing to say to you, maybe you
spent an amazing afternoon with your child, maybe you just stared
into a spectacular sunset...or maybe...maybe you were diagnosed
with cancer.
I know what you’re thinking...and no, it isn’t a typing error. I
know when a person sits down with a doctor and hears the awful
word “cancer,” they don’t jump out of the chair and shout, “Yes!
What a blessing!” If they did, I would be a little concerned about
them. Reacting to the news with shock, denial, fear, and grief is
the much more “normal” response of the average person.
Yet, there comes a point in the battle with cancer that I mentioned
in chapter twelve. There comes a point when the patient asks the
same question I asked that night at the dinner table with my family. They ask, “My God! Why me?” I believe with every fiber of
my being that the answer to that question is the key to victory over
cancer and everything else life can throw at us.
There is a poster in just about every self-respecting bible bookstore in the world that lists the names of Christ. He is called the Almighty, the Bread of Life, the Creator, the First and Last, the Good
Shepherd, the Holy One, the King of Kings, the Lamb of God, the
Messiah, the Prince of Peace, the Redeemer, the Savior, the Truth,
and the Word...just to name a few. The list of names is very long,
but nowhere in it will you find the name rescuer. It is not there.
Savior is there, but the two do not mean exactly the same thing.
While it is true that the definitions are almost identical, both words
meaning one who delivers someone from destruction or danger,
believers understand that the name Savior is a reference to God’s
plan to save us from the eternal destruction brought about by sin.
Modern day psychologists have altered the meaning of the word
rescuer somewhat. Today, rescuer can often refer to someone who
bails others out of difficult circumstances. Often the connotation
is negative.
I believe the name rescuer is not found in that list because the
name Redeemer is there instead. A redeemer is not a rescuer. A
redeemer does not bail others out of difficult circumstances. A
redeemer is a person who restores things to their rightful place.
Christ is the Redeemer.
Let me tell you the rightful place for every event and moment that
transpires here on earth. “We know that inall things God works for
the good of those who love him.” The quote is from Romans 8:28
in the New Testament(New International Version) . This means
Christ’s job as the Redeemer is to take every situation that life
throws at you and use it so that it brings you a blessing...even
cancer.
It doesn’t mean that we will understand the blessing right away.
It doesn’t mean that we’re wrong or weak for feeling shock, de-
nial, fear, and anger. What this means is that God is good...always.
What this means is that when life asks us to walk a rough road,
there is a Redeemer who walks every single inch of it with us, who
comforts us as we walk it, and who transforms the journey into
a blessing, no matter where it leads. Let me clarify this. Cancer
is not a blessing, but if looked for new blessings will be found
through the difficult challenge that otherwise would have never
been experienced.
The glaring weak point of virtually every cancer clinic in the
world is the failure to recognize the importance of encouraging
the patient to walk the rough roadwith the Redeemer. I believe that
nothing we do at Oasis is more important than that. In fact, if I had
to reduce the treatment program to a single therapy...this would
be it. I am convinced that nothing we do here impacts the lives of
patients more than prayer and devotions.
Besides the obvious spiritual benefit, clinical trials indicate that
there is healing power in prayer.1 Some people believe that there
is no power inherent in the discipline itself, but science proves
that belief to be misguided. There is a natural therapeutic effect in
prayer that benefits a patient. Beyond that, prayer is a way to connect to a God who possesses unlimited healing resources. It would
be foolish not to encourage every patient to pray regularly.
Devoting time to reading God’s word is an integral part of the
Oasis treatment program. Every morning, a pastor or missionary
leads patients in biblical devotions. Hearing about God’s love and
God’s promises builds faith and promotes peace. Patients tell me
that spending time in God’s word helps them to be much more
positive about the challenges they face. God’s word is the source
of life.
We also seek to encourage every member of our staff to live by
God’s principals, particularly in their interactions with our patients. We want our patients to be showered with love and care
on each and every visit. When people are diagnosed with cancer,
they are all too ready to assume the identity of a cancer patient.
We encourage all of our staff to share healing words with patients,
to help patients rebuild their self-esteem, and to strengthen the
faith of our patients. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that death and life are
on the tongue. Wechoose to speak life into our patients and one
another. That is the true spirit lived out every day at the Oasis of
Hope.
Chapter Sixteen
Great Expectations
The first time I went roller skating was with the church youth
group as a young teenager. There was a girl in the group that I was
eager to impress so, naturally, I was totally convinced that something disastrous was going to happen. The closest I had gotten to
roller skating before that fateful day was the time the sister of a
neighborhood friend left one of her skates at the foot of the stairs
in her house. We tumbled down the stairs toward the kitchen and
I planted my foot right on the skate. I’m sure I earned my pilot’s
wings that day, because I took off and it felt like hours before I hit
the ground.
Needless to say, the experience made an unpleasant impression on
me and filled me with the desire to throttle the idiot who first got
the idea of attaching wheels to the bottom of a pair of shoes. So, I
was less than enthusiastic about this particular church outing.
We arrived at the roller rink and I immediately broke into a sweat.
I wanted this girl to think I was cool. I didn’t want her to watch me
use my head like a battering ram. My “friends,” and I use that term
loosely, assured me that everything would be fine and that I would
catch on to this roller skating thing in no time atall.
I went and rented a pair of skates, which were the color of baby
puke, and strapped them to my feet. I moved to the opening to the
rink where scores of young boys and girls now swirled gracefully
in a perpetual left-hand turn. I took a few tentative steps and...
I was off. I was not the picture of perfection by any stretch of
the imagination, but I was actually managing to look coordinated.
Then, I saw her.
She was at the wall about twenty yards up and looking my direction. I thought, “Don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t fall.” So, of course,
I fell. I’m not even sure what happened to tell you the truth, but
I’m confident that my body did things that are not humanly possible. I’m positive that the contortionists from theCirque du Soliel
would have been proud, and that there is probably a very humorous dance named after me somewhere.
You are probably familiar with the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy. It is the irony that what one worries could happen does happen because anxiety makes it happen. While self-fulfilling prophecy can be disastrous, as it was for me on that day, it can also be
a blessing. What a person hopes will happen can happen because
faith will make it happen.
Many people consider the body to be the primary battleground for
cancer but I believe the real war is fought in the heart and mind
of the patient. The fear of cancer causes a person to believe that
he will die, and if he is fully convinced of his imminent demise,
the likelihood of survival is miniscule. Negative emotions actually
have a devastating physiological impact.
Yet, if a patient is freed of the fear, healing becomes much more
likely. That freedom also opens the door to other meaningful experiences that are not affected by the advance or remission of the
cancer. The person who experiences that freedom is victorious no
matter what the lab results are. I want to share with you the stories
of three cancer victors. Two are still living, one has passed away,
but all three defeated cancer. The words in quotations were spoken
or written by the patient.
Dee
“Twelve years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was devastated and shocked. First of all, I couldn’t believe this could happen to me. I had never been sick, not even with a cold, and I had
always considered myself to be a very healthy person. Immediately, I had a decision to make—Did I want to live or did I want to
die?My choice was obvious.
Coming home from the hospital, I knew I must take charge of
my life. I had just gone through an eight-hour modified radical
mastectomy, and with my determination to survive, my journey
began.
Fortunately, the first part of my journey took me to Oasis of Hope
Hospital where I met and became a patient of Dr. Francisco Contreras. Immediately, my life was touched in a positive way by a
staff and an environment that reassured and comforted me. They
offered me peace and healing. I was treated in not only a professional way, but as a personal family member.
Oasis’ focus was on the whole patient, not just the disease. With
the assistance of Dr. Contreras and the hospital staff, I learnedhow
to take charge of my life. This was the real journey, the journey
to healing. I soon became an avid student of nutrition and quickly
learned how to apply the best of science and the best of nature to
my personal life. I also learned health is the most valuable possession in life .
Cancer is the ultimate battle. It forces you to fight for your life.
Cancer does not discriminate. Only a few years ago, cancer was referred to as a condition too awful to discuss. However, knowledge
is a powerful weapon in the battle against cancer. Survivors know
cancer can be conquered, and they learn to speakthe language of
warfare. They truly have fought an enemy within—not simply the
intruding cells, but denial, anger, and despair, as well.
Many cancer survivors consider the disease to have been a gift
in a horrible package, a message too dire to ignore: life, which is
indeed fleeting and precious, is a miracle and a gift from God. I
know hope is the most powerful medicine of all. Illness is an opportunity for growth, and the healing part comes from the ability
to deal with whatever illness is troubling you. It’s all about finding
peace of mind.
How did an experience so tragic bring good into my life? It was
a lesson to teach me where to turn to in a crisis. It pulled me into
a dark valley, dropping me along the way—forcing me to rest
and learn to trust. Psalm 46:10 says, ‘Be still and know that I am
God.’
He was in control. I emerged on the mountaintop, in the same
world but with a different appreciation of life and a closer relationship with my Savior. Yes, I touched the rose and felt the thorn. I’ve
seen my life go from ‘vision to victory.’
We cannot tell what may happen to us in the strange medley of
life, but we can decide what happens within us...how we take it
and what we do with it. That’s what really counts in the end—how
to take the raw stuff of life and make it a thing of worth and beauty.
That is the test of living. The magic of life can never end, for it’s
filled with all life’s greatest gifts—our family and friends.
If you are struggling with illness, remember the importance of
a positive mental attitude and do not give up hope. Arm yourself
with knowledge about your illness, and become an active participant in your treatment plans.”
Jack
Jack Riley was a senior triathlete. He entered races that involved
three phases—swimming, biking, and running. A grueling sport
even for the young, Jack had begun running triathlons later in life.
A former drinker, smoker, and junk food advocate, Jack had traded
in his bourbon glass for running shoes in mid-life. Jack competed
in 644 marathons and triathlons.
After being diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer, Jack, a thirty-year resident of Alamo, California, became a community hero
in 1996 when he was elected to carry the Olympic Torch in San
Francisco during the torch relay. He passed the flame on to the
next runner, dipped his foot in the Pacific Ocean, then ran, biked,
and swam 3,300 miles to the Olympic stadium in Atlanta, his personal Olympic torch in hand. He continued on until he arrived at
the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1997 he ran, biked, and swam 1,700 miles from Vancouver,
Canada, to Tijuana, Mexico. Jack’s runs took him through three
hundred towns. Through the media, over fifteen million people
were made aware of his quest. For Jack, the highlight of his trips
was visiting children’s cancer centers in the major cities and helping to cheer up those children and give them courage to fight their
battle against cancer.
In the last phase of his life, Jack wasn’t dwelling on dying; he was
concentrating on living. When I asked Jack what the motivation
was for his transnational triathalons, he replied, “I am a competitor. I guess it is just in my blood. If I can do this for a good cause...
well, that’s what life is all about. I will do this as long as I can...as
long as God gives me the physical, mental, and emotional ability.
I see cancer as a competitor, but I don’t dwell on the other competitors. I dwell on myown performance, which is in the hands of
God.”
On Jack’s third and final triathlon of hope, he made it from the
Pacific Ocean through thirteen cities in California and Arizona. At
New Mexico’s border, his body gave out, though his spirit never
did. Jack Riley passed away on July 1, 1998. His wife told me that
he died the way he wanted to die, serving others and fighting for
a cure to cancer.
Jack Riley was, and continues to be, a role model for those with a
cancer challenge because he kept a positive attitude. In a day when
it is difficult to find a hero, Jack is one of mine because he had
courage, commitment, love, integrity, and focus. Jack was a friend
whose memory motivates me to do something meaningful with
my life. When I feel challenged and even overwhelmed by the
tasks of a day, I think of Jack. He had cancer, and yet he crossed
the United States more than two times on his own power.
William
One day at the hospital, we were having a prayer service. One of
our pastors approached a patient named William who was there
on a follow-up visit. When William was asked if he wanted prayer
for healing he responded, “I don’t need to be healed of cancer. I
have already been blessed more than I deserve. I have been married to my lovely wife for fifty years and some wonderful things
have come about since I was diagnosed with cancer. A number of
my friends who didn’t know Christ now do because they started to
spend more time with me and we would pray together. Also, I have
three children, all of whom had broken marriages. The kids started
to get together to pray and now two of those marriages have been
restored and I am waiting for the third one to get back together
with his wife. Now do you understand why I am not worried about
the cancer?”
Many people feel that anything less than a cure is a failure when
it comes to cancer. My patients have demonstrated to me just how
incorrect that point of view is. I encourage my patients to search
for meaning through the experience and look for the hidden miracles in the process. That is what William did. I also ask people to
expand their definition of what a valid outcome looks like.
For many patients, the valid outcome is the enjoyment of many
years of quality living even though the cancer persists. I will never
forget the time I accompanied my father to the famed Sloan-Kettering cancer center in New York to share successful case studies
with some of the leading oncologists in the world. My father put
up a patient’s diagnostic chest x-ray alongside a post treatment xray. The tumor was still there. One of the oncologists stood up and
stated, “That’s not a successful case.”
He left the room and returned with comparative x-rays of one of
his patients. The diagnostic x-ray showed a tumor and the posttreatment x-ray did not. My father congratulated the doctor and
asked how the patient was doing. The oncologist stated with no
remorse, “The patient died, but the treatment was successful.”
My father humbly pointed out that even though cancer was still
present in the patient of the case he presented, the x-rays were taken ten years apart and the patient continued to live and work with
thecancer completely under control. I was dumbfounded when the
oncologists told my father that it was a nice story but that only
objective results, such as measurable tumor reduction, constituted
a valid outcome. The patients who have found a way to peacefully
co-exist with a cancer would disagree. Controlling cancer is also
a valid outcome.
For some patients, a valid outcome is outliving their prognosis by
months and sometimes even years. This outcome is truly a success
when patients really begin tolive . Patch Adams once told me, “I
know we have a world panic about cancer. But the worst cancer is
being alive and not enjoying it, not feeling gratitude, not loving,
not living. It is not the dying of death that is really the big deal;
it is the dying in life that is bad. To go around thinking, ‘Life is a
struggle, life is terrible and then you die,’ that’s the worst cancer.
Being in this miracle of life and throwing it away is much worse.
The hope with cancer is not whether we are going to get rid of it.
We are never going to end death. We want to have a little more life
so we may experience the living that we have been hoping for in
the future, when, in fact, anyone can have it today.”
I often ask patients, “What will you do differently if you are cured
of cancer?” When they tell me their answer, I suggest that they
begin living their dreams today instead of waiting. If your life is to
be extended, make it count. And if you live life to the fullest, every
extra day becomes a day to celebrate.
It is always wonderful to see people come to terms with life and
the people around them. My father received a letter from a woman
telling him that her husband had passed away but that she had
much to be grateful for. While he was being treated, he found
peace and love and was able to forgive his father for childhood
abuse. After that, he lived six more months and his wife said that
he was a newman. He had never been affectionate with his children but in those six months, his girls experienced what it was to
have a loving father. The man was not cured, he did not co-exist
for long with the cancer, but, he experienced life with his family
that they might not have otherwise had.
You can kick the feet out from under cancer if you can adapt great
expectations. If a cure is the only acceptable resolution for you,
you just might miss out on the incredible blessing that God has
for you.
Chapter Seventeen
Take Charge
If you are a cancer patient, whether or not you are considering
coming to the Oasis of Hope, I would encourage you to adopt
these recommendations. They have helped patients experience
victory over cancer.
First, prepare your mind for success. Be at peace with your choice
of therapy. Even though wisdom is in the multitude of opinions,
at the end of the day you must make your choice having weighed
all options. Nine out of ten times, people will voice disapproval
to your decision. They’ll say chemotherapy is toxic, alternative
therapy is...well, alternative. Once all the cards are on the table let
your gut or, better yet, your God guide your decision. Remember
that nothing is written in stone. You can change your mind at any
time. To every therapy you can say yes, no, maybe, or not yet.
Your needs are the ones that have to be met not everybody else’s.
Second, accept the doctor’s prognosis as a professional opinion;
not God’s truth. Most people are easily persuaded by an authority
figure. Doctors are trained to give a statistical estimation of your
personal condition. Remember, it’s only an estimate. If your doctor has sentenced you to death and attached a timetable to the rest
of your life, you must process that prognosis with caution. Your
doctor may be a medical authority figure, but he is not a prophet.
Yes, statistics can be reliable sources of information but it is you
who decides which group you want to identify with, the 70 percent
chance group or the 30 percent chance group? Will Rogers said,
“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to
be.” Never give up hope.
Third, prepare your body for success. Be diligent in your journey
towards healing. Once you have chosen the therapy that’s best for
you, change any area of your lifestyle that could compromise the
results. Make a commitment to stop smoking, drinking and eating junk food. Start exercising more, drinking water more, resting
more, andliving more.
Fourth, eat foods that promote health. There is no controversy
over the connection between diet and health. Start consuming organic vegetables and fruits on a daily basis. If you insist on eating
meats, eat them in moderation and make sure it is free range, free
of hormones and antibodies. Avoid dairy products as much as possible. Stay away from any type of processed food, especially fast
foods
Fifth, start supplementing your diet with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, enzymes, and amino acids. These are important resources that will enable your immune system to work better for
you, some of them are even mild antitumor agents that will complement your therapy, be it alternative or orthodox.
Sixth, prepare your soul for success. Many of us rarely consider
our spiritual status until we are faced with a crisis. The Chinese
do not have a character for crisis; instead, they depict crisis by
combining the character for danger with the one for opportunity.
If you acknowledge that cancer not only presents a danger but an
opportunity as well, you will be better equipped to come out on
top. Patients who are able to put cancer in the “back seat” can go
on with their lives without allowing the presence of a malignancy
to consume them with fear.
Seventh, remember that God is in charge. Regardless of your personal beliefs, even if you are an agnostic, you recognize that a
force greater than ours is at work in the universe. Some call it
chance, but I like to call it God. If you allow God to help in your
time of greatest need, I believe you will be spiritually healed, as
well. Statistics show that spiritual fortitude helps cancer patients
fare better.
Epilogue
Friedrich Nietzsche said that a liar lies to others and that an optimist lies to himself. In the search for a cancer cure, many promises
have come and gone and optimistic new promises are now viewed
with skepticism. That is why receiving a diagnosis of cancer is so
devastating; because one assumes that the odds of beating it are
so infinitesimally small that it would be a waste of time trying.
Patients often feel dead even though they are still walking among
the living.
I choose to run counter to the current stream of thought. I agree
that research should be objective and that we should be grounded
in the real world. However, I’m optimistic that we can help cancer
patients even more than we do today if we change our scientific
paradigm.
The aim of mainstream medicine has been to destroy tumors
through surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Incredibly, the
medical community has been pursuing the same therapies, aided
by new technology, expecting to obtain different results. Where is
the logic in that?
There are new therapies like the human genome project that are
rapidly changing the perspective of many doctors. In the near future, we may be able to target the cancer genes themselves or the
proteins they produce. One such approach is Glevec, the first drug
approved by the FDA for the treatment of cancer that is not chemotherapeutic. Glevec is in a new class of cancer drug and represents a shift in the scientific paradigm. This drug attacks proteins
that help the cancer survive. Most therapies lack specificity, and
kill normal cells as well as cancer cells.
For forty years we have treated patients with a completely different approach. At the Oasis of Hope the aim of treatment is not to
destroy the tumor. Don’t get me wrong, tumors are on our most
wanted list, but they don’t occupy the number one spot. But we
look beyond tumor destruction to the restoration of natural defenses, avoidance of stressors, development of a healthy lifestyle, and
spiritual/emotional support. Without a multi-faceted approach, no
amount of chemotherapy or radiation will help.
In reflection at this four-decade milestone of cancer treatment at
the Oasis of Hope, I would like to share the vision of what our
organization will be doing over the next ten years. The list is a
starting point because things are being discovered on a daily basis.
I am sure that we will readjust this list numerous times. Nonetheless, here is a draft:
• Further develop the use of amygdalin as a prodrug
• Develop transimmunization
• Advance the use of Ozone and UV light
• Complete the design of a healing environment at the Oasis of
Hope Hospital through electromagnetic field organizers, and air
and water ionizers
• Help people create healing environments in their homes. This
information will be available atwww.inhomeoasis.com
• Open outpatient clinics in London, Seoul and other leading medical cities to increase influence and broaden our research base
• Integrate mind/spirit therapies into medical program and help
patients structure themselves for success
• Increase commitment to educating the world on cancer prevention and treatment
The future of cancer therapy is a bright one if physicians will
open their minds to an integrative and eclectic approach and stop
searching for the cure. Medical pride means nothing to a patient
in need.
On a final note, I wish to acknowledge that many people have
worked to bring our message or a similar message to the general
public. I cannot mention everyone but I would like to note a few
people and organizations that have been important to increasing
the consciousness of people to a different approach to cancer treatment. We have had strategic partners who have increased our ability to communicate our message worldwide including MN Japan,
Wing Company, Inc., Amino Up Chemical Co., Ltd., Mr. Andrew
Nuttall, and Mr. Chris Byrne, hundreds of people in Christian
Broadcasting,Strang Communications, Authentic Media, Editrice IL DONO, Dr. Rhee, Peter Graham, and The Full Gospel
Businessmen’s Fellowship International. I also wish to recognize
the tireless work of people and organizations like Edward Griffin,
Phillip Day, Cancer Victors and Friends, the Issels Foundation,
Burton Goldberg, the Cancer Control Society, the Cancer Aid &
Research Fund, the National Health Federation, Dr. Patch Adams,
and the Gerson Institute. I also thank all of the doctors and clinics that have incorporated our philosophy and protocols into their
work. My father’s deepest wish was to share what he learned with
the world.
Francisco Contreras, MD
Appendix I
New Approach: Amygdalin as Tumoral Sensitizer (pro-drug) in
the Induction of Apoptosis, via Reduction of Intracellular Cysteine Levels
Cancer cells have higher concentrations of cysteine and glutathione than healthy cells do. Glutathione makes tumors resistant
to treatment. Amygdalin’s cyanide lowers the levels of cysteine,
which in turn lowers the concentrations of intracellular glutathione. Tumors with low concentrations of glutathione are sensitive
to antitumor agents.
When amygdalin is taken, the body metabolizes it and cyanhydric
acid (HCN) is produced.1 HCN, though highly toxic, is immediately converted into a non-toxic substance called thyocyanate
(SCN). SCN consumes cysteine in an intracellular process. It is
this function that makes amygdalin so vital in the treatment of
cancer.2 The process is carried out by sulfur transferase enzymes,
such as rhodenase, among others.3 These enzymes contain an active site of cysteine (Cys), where the reaction that transforms cyanhydric acid into thyocyanate (HCNàSCN) takes place.4
This mediated function through sulfurtranferases depends on the
intracellular level of cysteine5 as the fundamental donor of the
sulfur that is transferred in the reaction HCNàSCN. The strategic
value in reducing cysteine levels in tumors has been well-documented by several researchers.6 One of the most important effects
is the depletion of intracellular glutathione (GSH) whose concentration depends on the availability of cysteine.7 When concentrations of glutathione are low, apoptosis (programmed cell death) of
tumor cells is promoted via the destabilization of mitochondrial
membrane permeability.8 In contrast, a high concentration of intracellular glutathione in tumors is related to the phenomena of
Multi Drugs Resistant Tumor.9 Furthermore, high levels of intracellular glutathione are responsible for the resistance tumors have
to oxidative stress. This means that the tumors become resistant
to radiation, chemotherapy, drugs, phytochemicals, or oxidative
therapies.10
Lowering cysteine levels results in sensitization of tumors. This
provides a tremendous advantage in the fight against cancer that
should not be discarded by mainstream oncologists.11 I predict
that sensitizing malignant cells to oxidative stress will become
the cutting edge of anticancer research. In our effort to find substances with these sensitizing properties, we continuously study
compounds, especially those found in nature, which may aid antineoplastic treatments. Amygdalin can increase sensitization of
certain tumors especially in combination with other substances
such as vitamin C, theanine, vitamin K-3, arsenic trioxide (Aas2
O3), menadione and other substances that modulate glutathione
and cysteine levels.12
Appendix II
Krebs’ hypothesis: Amygdalin’s mechanism of action
The highly toxic substance cyanhydric acid (HCN) is one of the
end products of the hydrolysis of amygdalin. In order to produce it,
ß-glucosidase is required. Rhodanese is an enzyme that performs
a function of converting HCN to thyocyanate (SCN), a harmless
substance. Rhodanese is part of the normal detoxification process
of the body. However, in contrast with normal cells, cancerous
cells are high in ß-glucosidase and low in rhodanese. Thus the
normal cellular protective mechanism is decreased in tumor cells
and they become more sensitive to the effects of the HCN, which
depresses the enzyme functions of the cancer cell and thereby destroys it. Then, according to Ernest Krebs hypothesis, amygdalin’s
toxic effects are against the cancerous cell and not the host.13
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62. Letteron P et al. Mechanism for the protective effects of silymarin against carbon tetrachloride-induced lipid peroxidation and
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Zi X et al. Anti-carcinogenic effect of a flavonoid antioxidant
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Agarwal C, Singh RP et al. Silibinin upregulates the expression
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Vinh PQ, Sugie S et al. Chemopreventive effects of a flavonoid antioxidant silymarin on N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine-induced urinary bladder carcinogenesis in male ICR mice.
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64. Singh RP, Dhanalakshmi S et al. Dietary feeding of silibinin
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65. Vinh PQ, Sugie S et al. Chemopreventive effects of a flavonoid antioxidant silymarin on N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine-induced urinary bladder carcinogenesis in male ICR mice.
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66. Tyagi A, Bhatia N, Condon MS et al. Antiproliferative and
apoptotic effects on silibinin in rat prostate cancer cells. Prostate
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Agarwal C, Singh RP et al. Silibinin upregulates the expression
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67. Agarwal C, Singh RP et al. Silibinin upregulates the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and causes cell cycle
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Chapter 9 A Combined Effort
1.See Table 1, Chapter 3.
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13. Maurer HR. Bromelain:biochemistry, pharmacology and
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Chapter 10 Something In The Air
1. Pryor WA, Squadrito GL and Friedman M. The cascade mechanisms to explain ozone toxicity: The role of lipid ozonation products. Free Rad Biol Med 1995,19:935-941.
Bocci V. Does ozone therapy normalize the cellular redox balance?: Implications for the therapy of human immunodeficiency
virus infection and several other diseases. Medical Hypotheses
1996,46:150-154.
2. Wells KH, Latino J, Gavalchin J and Poiesz B. Inactivation of
human immunodeificiency virus type 1 by ozone in vitro. Blood
1991,78:1882-1890.
3. Bocci V. Does ozone therapy normalize the cellular redox balance?: Implications for the therapy of human immunodeficiency
virus infection and several other diseases. Medical Hypotheses
1996,46:150-154.
4. Bocci V. Ozonization of blood for the therapy of viral disease and immunodeficiencies. A hypothesis. Medical Hypotheses
1992,39:30-34.
5. Bocci V. Is ozone therapy therapeutic? Perspectives in Biology
and Medicine 1998,42:131-143.
6. Wells KH, Latino J, Gavalchin J and Poiesz B. Inactivation of
human immunodeificiency virus type 1 by ozone in vitro. Blood
1991,78:1882-1890.
Carpendale TF, and Freeberg JK. Ozone inactivates HIV at
noncytotoxic concentrations. Antiviral Res 1991,16:281-292.
7. Bocci V. Does ozone therapy normalize the cellular redox balance?:Implications for the therapy of human immunodeficiency
virus infection and several other diseases. Medical Hypotheses
1996,46:150-154.
Hernández F, Menéndez S and Wong R. Decrease of blood cholesterol and stimulation of antioxidative response in cardiophathy
patients treated with endovenous ozone therapy. Free Rad Biol
Med 1995,19(1):115-119.
8. Di Paolo N, Bocci V, Garosi G et al. Extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation (EBOO) in man. Preliminary report. Int J
Artif Organs 2000; 23(2):131-141.
9. Coppola L, Verrazzo G, Giunta R et al. Oxygen/ozone therapy
and haemorheological parameters in peripheral chronic arterial
occlusive disease. Throm Arterioscler 1992,8:83-90.
Tylicki L, Nieweglowski T, Biedunkiewicz B et al. Beneficial
clinical effects of ozonated autohemotherapy in chronically dialysed patients with atherosclerotic ischemia of the lower limbs-pilot study. Int J Artif Organs 2001; 24:79-82.
Hernández F, Menéndez S and Wong R. Decrease of blood cholesterol and stimulation of antioxidative response in cardiophathy
patients treated with endovenous ozone therapy. Free Rad Biol
Med 1995; 19(1):115-119.
Di Paolo N, Bocci V, Garosi G et al. Extracorporeal blood oxy-
genation and ozonation (EBOO) in man. Preliminary report. Int J
Artif Organs 2000; 23(2):131-141.
10. Pryor WA, Squadrito GL and Friedman M. The cascade mechanisms to explain ozone toxicity: The role of lipid ozonation products. Free Rad Biol Med 1995,19:935-941.
Pryor WA. Mechanisms of radical formation from reactions of
ozone with target molecules in the lung. Free Rad Biol Med 1994,
17:451-465.
11. See note 5.
12. Bocci V. Is ozone therapy therapeutic? Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 1998,42:131-143.
Di Paolo N, Bocci V, Garosi G et al. Extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation (EBOO) in man. Preliminary report. Int J
Artif Organs 2000,23(2):131-141.
Bocci V, Valacchi G, Corradeschi F et al. Studies on the biological effects of ozone; 7. Generation of reactive oxygen species
(ROS) after exposure of human blood to ozone. J Biol Reg Homeost Agents 1998, 12(3):67-75.
13. Nitric oxide: A gas molecule that is critical to numerous biological processes, including vasodilaton, neurotransmission and
tumor-killing.
14. Bocci V. Is ozone therapy therapeutic? Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 1998,42:131-143.
Bocci V, Luzzi E, Corradeshi F et al. Studies on the biological
effects of ozone: 3. An attempt to define conditions for optimal
induction of cytokines. Lymphokine and Cytokine Research 1993,
12 (2):121-126.
Bocci V, Valacchi G, Corradeschi F and Fanetti G. Studies on
the biological effects of ozone: 8. Effects on the total antioxidant
status and on interleukin-8 production. Mediators of Inflammation
1998; 7:313-317.
Bocci V and Paulesu L. Studies on the biological effects of
ozone: 1. Induction of interferon gamma on human leucocytes.
Haematologica 1990, 75:510-515.
Paulesu L, Luzzi E and Bocci V. Studies on the biological
effects of ozone: 2. Induction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) on
human leucocytes. Lymphokyne and Cytokine Research 1991;
10:409-412.
Valacchi and Bocci V. Studies on the biological effects of
ozone: 11. Releasing factors from human endothelial cells. Mediators of Inflammation 2000; 9 (6): 271-276.
15. See note 4.
16. Toyokuni S, Okamoto K, Yodoi J and Hiai H. Persistent oxidative stress in cancer. FEBS Letters 1995, 358: 1-3.
Ames BN, Shigenaga MK and Hagen TM. Oxidants, antioxidants, and the degenerative diseases of aging. Proc Nat Acad Sci
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Schwarz KB. Oxidative stress during viral infection: A review.
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Simonian NA and Coyle JT. Oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases. Ann Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 1996; 36:83-106.
Chapter 11 Seeing The Light
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8. Edelson RL et al. Treatment of leukemic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with extracorporeally- photoactivated 8-methoxypsoralen.
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10. Barr ML, Meiser B, et al. Photopheresis for the prevention or
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11. Song PS and Tapley KJ. Photochemistry and photobiology of
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Edelson Rl. Editorial. Transimmunization: the science catches
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13. Edelson Rl. Editorial. Transimmunization: the science catches
up to the clinical success. Transfus Apheresis Sci 2002;26:177180.
14. Timmerman JM, and Levy R. Dendritic cell vaccines for cancer immunotherapy. Annu Rev Med 1999,50:507-529.
15. Ibid.
16. Yoshiki T, Naohiro S et al. Photoactivational cytokine-modulatory action of 8-methoxypsoralen plus ultraviolet A in lymphocytes, monocytes, and cutaneous T cells lymphoma cells. Ann NY
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17. Berger CL, Xu A-L et al. Induction of human tumor-loaded
dendritic cells. Int J Cancer 2001:91:438-447.
18. Burdin N and Moingeon P. Cancer vacines based on dendritic
cells loaded with tumor-associated antigens. Cell Biol Toxicol
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Whitside TL and Odoux C. Dendritic cell biology and cancer
therapy. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2004;53(3):240-248.
Tsan MF and Gao B. Cytokine function of heat shock proteins.
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 2004;286(4):C739-744.
Kantengwa S, Jornot L, Devenoges C and Nicod LP. Superoxide anions induce the maturation of human dendritic cells. Am J
Respir Crit Care Med 2003;167(3):431-437.
Rutault K, Alderman C, Chain BM and Katz DR. Reactive
oxygen species activate human peripheral blood dendritic cells.
Free Radic Bio Med 1999;26(1-2):232-238.
Leon B, Martinez Del Hoyo G, Parrillas V et al. Dendritic cell
differentiation potential of mouse monocytes: monocytes represent immediate precursors of CD8- and CD8+ splenic dendritic
cells. Blood 2004;103: 2668-2676.
Albert ML, Sauter B and Bhardwaj N. Dendritic cells acquire
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Nature 1998;392(6671):86-89.
19. Yoo EK, Rook AH et al. Apoptosis induction by ultraviolet
A and photochemotherapy in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Relevance in mechanism of therapeutic action. J Invest Dermatol
1996;107:235-242.
20. Berger CL, Xu A-L et al. Induction of human tumor-loaded
dendritic cells. Int J Cancer 2001:91:438-447.
21. Berger CL, Hanlon D et al. Transimmunization, a novel approachfor tumor immunotherapy. Transfus Apheresis Sci
2002;26:205-216.
Girardi M, Schechner J et al. Transimmunization and the evolution of extracorporeal photochemotherapy. Transfus Apheresis
Sci 2002;26;181-190.
Chapter 13 Mind Medicine
1.See Dr. Ernesto Contreras’ autobiography,To you, my beloved
patient. (Chula Vista, CA Interpacific Press) 1999.
2.
http://www.musicasmedicine.com/aboutmt.htm
3.Cousins, Norman.Anatomy of an Illness. As perceived by the
patient. (New York:Bantam Books) 1989 [1979].
4. Deane K, Fitch M and Carman M. An innovative art therapy program for cancer patients. Can Oncol Nurs J. 2000 Fall;10(4):14751, 152-7.
5. Ishihara S, Makita S, Imai M, Hashimoto, T and Nohara R.
Relationship between natural killer activity and anger expression
in patients with coronary heart disease. Heart Vessels 2003;18(2),
85-92.
6.Study: depression, sadness weaken immune system. February
17, 2004 http://www.thedenverchannel.com/print/2448536/detail.
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7.Bennett MP, Zeller JM, Rosenberg L and McCann J. The effect of mirthful laughter on stress and natural killer cell activity.
Alternative Therapy Health Medicine 2003; 9(2), 38-45.
8.Mayr B and Mayr A. Interactions between the immune system and the psyche. Tierarztl Prax Ausg K Klientiere Heimtiere
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9. See note 6.
10. Frankl V.Man’s search for meaning . (Boston, MA: Beacon
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Chapter 15 True Spirit
1. See Byrd RC.Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory
prayer in a coronary care unit population. South Med J. 1988
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Tatsumura Y, Maskarinec G, Shumay DM and Kakai H. Religious and spiritual resources, CAM, and conventional treatment
in the lives of cancer patients. Altern Ther Health Med 2003 MayJun;9(3):64-71.
Kennedy JE, Abbott RA and Rosenberg BS. Changes in spirituality and well-being in a retreat program for cardiac patients:
Altern Ther Health Med 2002;8(4):64-6, 68-70, 72-73.
OG Harding . The healing power of intercessory prayer.West
Indian Med J; 2001; 50(4): 269-72.
JA Astin, E Harkness and E Ernst .The efficacy of “distant healing”: a systematic review of randomized trials. Ann Intern Med
2000; 132(11): 903-10.
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